A sell-off in banks and the supermarket giants dragged the sharemarket lower this afternoon ahead of the Reserve Bank’s interest rate decision. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index slipped 0.4 per cent, or by 29 points, to 8123.9 as of 2pm AEST, weighed down by eight out of the 11 sectors. A rally in mining stocks limited losses after China announced stimulus measures to meet its 5 per cent growth target. All the major banks were in the red before the RBA rate decision at 2.30pm AEST.
Together, they account for two-thirds of Australia’s grocery market. The shares dropped 2.9 per cent and 2 per cent respectively. In commodities, iron ore futures in Singapore jumped 3.9 per cent to $US92.90 a tonne after the People’s Bank of China announced a series of stimulus measures at a rare briefing on Tuesday in Beijing. These included moves to boost banks’ lending to consumers and corporates, and a cut to its key short-term interest rate.