What’s your take on the RBA’s mood?
The September minutes suggest another rate hike may be on the cards.
The US Fed is echoing a not too dissimilar sentiment.
On another note…
Great feature of our portfolio company ASX:CDT in The West Australian today.
Following successful metallurgical testing, CDT has reported commercial-standard specification grade for bulk fine-flake graphite concentrate grading 95.1 per cent total graphitic carbon (TGC).
This is one step further to the company becoming possible supplier of concentrate to be ultimately used in the production of anodes for lithium-ion batteries to power the world’s fast-growing fleet of electric vehicles.
Click here to read more.
Across Markets…
The sharemarket closed 0.5 per cent lower on Tuesday, ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s policy meeting, which is expected to reaffirm the “higher-for-longer” message on interest rates. The All Ords also slipped 0.5 per cent.
All the major banks declined. Mining companies slumped after iron ore prices pulled away from six-month highs on worries about China’s deepening property crisis.
Heavyweights BHP dropped 1.4 per cent, Fortescue Metals shed 1.1 per cent and Rio Tinto eased 0.7 per cent.
Undermining the mood were minutes of the Reserve Bank’s September meeting showing the central bank is considered raising rates.
Earlier this month the RBA kept, as expected, the cash rate at 4.1 per cent for the third consecutive meeting, but said it was ready to lift it again should inflation prove more persistent.
On the ASX, all sectors, except energy were in the red, with materials leading losses.
Yet shares in New Hope jumped 2.1 per cent and hit their highest since January, after posting a $1 billion profit on strong coal demand and record high prices.
Explosives giant Orica rallied 1.4 per cent. It has ramped up its targets for direct emissions reduction and has introduced an “ambition” to cut indirect emissions, bucking the broader trend for energy-intensive companies to dial back on near-term climate commitments.
Gold miner takeover target Newcrest advanced 1.4 per cent after US miner Newmont received the nod from Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) to proceed with its planned acquisition. The deal needs more regulatory approvals to go ahead.