Global Markets | Australian shares end at one-week high as miners, energy stocks gain

The S&P/ASX 200 ⁠index ⁠rose 0.3% to log its highest close in a week at 8,640.6 points after struggling for direction early in the session. Sentiment remained fragile a day after the Reserve Bank of Australia raised the cash rate to a 10-month high of 4.1%.

Kyle Rodda, senior financial market analyst at Capital.com, said he remained cautious on the outlook for the ASX 200, warning that further rate ⁠hikes could ‌weigh on domestic fundamentals and valuations, while a prolonged global slowdown would make it difficult for the index to revisit record ⁠highs.

While investors pared back expectations of an immediate follow-up move in May, the RBA’s inflation warning was sharpened by the escalating Middle East war, which risked lifting fuel costs and further muddying the outlook for policy.

Markets now imply a roughly 50-50 chance of another RBA rate hike at its next meeting, with a cash rate of 4.35% fully priced by August.

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Investor focus will now shift to a ‌run of inflation-sensitive data ahead of the RBA’s May meeting, starting with monthly employment figures due on Thursday. Miners rose for a second session, gaining 0.3%. BHP gained 0.7% ⁠after appointing Brandon Craig as its top boss, while Rio Tinto added 0.8%. Energy stocks climbed 0.7% as oil prices rallied overnight, though Woodside Energy added 0.1% after naming interim chief Liz Westcott as permanent chief executive officer.
Banks ended 0.1% higher, while technology and real estate stocks rose 1.6% and 0.9%, respectively. Gold stocks ended flat as bullion prices eased ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve decision. New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 1% to 13,315.6 points. (Reporting by Jasmeen Ara Shaikh in Bengaluru; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair)