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The local share market has had a subdued morning as investors await the Reserve Bank’s latest interest rate decision after 10 consecutive hikes.
At noon AEDT on Tuesday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index had gained 1.1 points, or 0.02 per cent, to 7,224.2, while the All Ordinaries had risen 2.6 points, or 0.04 per cent, to 7,419.
The central bank will deliver its eagerly-awaited rates decision at 2.30pm with analysts divided on whether the rate hike campaign will come to an end or if borrowers will have to withstand another increase.
While the market has tipped the borrowing rate of 3.6 per cent to remain unchanged for the first time in 10 decisions, City Index’s senior market analyst Matt Simpson wrote in a note the “pause versus hike debate is much closer to a 50/50 than market pricing implies”.
Seven of the ASX’s official 11 sectors had been trending in positive territory by noon with energy stocks leading the way.
Whitehaven Coal was up 4.8 per cent to $7.22 a share.
New Hope Corp followed closely behind with a 3.7 per cent increase to $6 a share.
The sector’s heavy hitters Woodside Energy and Santos had seen growth at lunch with stocks increasing by 0.5 per cent and 2.0 per cent respectively.
The materials sector recorded the sharpest fall among the group, dropping half a percentage point at midday.
Mining giant BHP led the losses, down 1.8 per cent to $46.14, while Fortescue and Rio Tinto declined 1.0 per cent and 0.7 per cent respectively.
Bank stocks were in the red at noon with Westpac down 0.6 per cent – the steepest drop of the big four banks.
CBA was down 0.23 per cent to $99.4 a share while ANZ and NAB fared better, dropping 0.13 per cent and 0.16 per cent respectively.
Job-listing company Seek experienced a share price decline of 2.5 per cent to $23.60 after its financial year 2023 revenue forecast was slashed by about $15 million on the back of lower job ads.
The Australian dollar surged to its highest point in more than a month, buying 67.79 US cents, from 66.63 US cents at Monday’s ASX close.
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