The Australian sharemarket finished Tuesday’s trading session slightly in the red, with few leads coming from international markets as both the US and UK bourses were closed for public holidays.
Bank of France governor Francois Villeroy de Galhau pushed back against fellow monetary officials who are uncomfortable at the idea of consecutive European Central Bank interest-rate cuts.Strike Energy shares rose 7.3 per cent after the company told the ASX that its Walyering gas field site had recouped its development cost of $30 million just eight months after it was brought online. The payback period is one of the fastest in recent times for a greenfield Australian oil and gas project.
“Australian consumers remain extremely despondent,” said CreditorWatch chief economist Anneke Thompson. “Although Treasury forecasts that income-tax cuts and cost-of-living measures announced in the budget will assist in a recovery in real disposable income over the 2024-25 financial year, it remains to be seen if this will flow on to increased spending in the retail sector.
“The lower inflation backdrop, soft economic growth and higher unemployment rate should allow the Reserve Bank to start cutting interest rates by the end of the year. The poor retail data indicates that the RBA should not be discussing the need for another rate hike at its next meeting in June, as higher interest rates are clearly working to slow demand.”