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ASX 200 ends at highest level since March 7
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Gold stocks close at a near one-year high
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Whitehaven Coal dips 3.2% after 2023 forecast cut
(Updates to close)
By Echha Jain
April 12 (Reuters) - Australian shares extended gains
for a second straight session on Wednesday led by mining stocks,
while investors keenly awaited key U.S. inflation data for clues
on the Federal Reserve's monetary policy path.
The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.5% to 7,343.90, its highest closing level since March 7. The benchmark ended 1.3% higher on Tuesday.
Investors globally are focussed on the U.S. consumer price data due later in the day, which is expected to show core inflation rose 0.4% on a monthly basis and 5.6% year-on-year in March, according to a Reuters Poll.
"Inflation is moving in the right direction, but it may not
be falling as fast as the Fed would like, which is what we will
find out today," said Josh Gilbert, market analyst at eToro AUS
Capital Ltd.
Additionally, markets are expecting a nearly 74% likelihood
of another 25 basis point interest rate hike at the conclusion
of Fed's May monetary policy meeting. In Australia, miners jumped 1.5% to close at
their highest level since March 7, as Dalian iron ore futures
edged up on China's robust loan growth in the first quarter
bolstering hopes for an economic rebound for the world's biggest
steel producer. Fortescue Metals Group , BHP Group and Rio
Tinto added between 1.6% and 2.7%.
Gold stocks advanced 0.9% on firm bullion prices,
rising for a fifth consecutive session and closing at a near
one-year high. Northern Star Resources and ASX-listed shares of
AngloGold Ashanti climbed 1.8% and 2.4%, respectively.
On the other hand, energy stocks fell 0.3%, dragged
down by Whitehaven Coal slipping 3.2%, after
Australia's largest coal miner lowered its production and sales
forecasts for fiscal 2023.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index rose 0.4%
to close at 11,917.50.
(Reporting by Echha Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
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