Stocks inch higher on depressed retail sales

The benchmark ASX 200 edged up 0.35 per cent, or 26.7 points, to finish at 7664.10, while the broader All Ordinaries index lifted 0.32 per cent, or 25.4 points, to close at 7932.March retail sales data from the ABS showed a 0.4 per cent fall in spending across the month, well below economists’ expectations of a 0.2 per cent increase.

“If Michele Bullock was thinking about hiking rates after last week’s inflation data, that number today will probably cause her to have second thoughts. The small uplift followed a good session on Wall Street overnight on Monday, which saw the Dow Jones close up 0.38 per cent, the S and P 500 index finish up 0.32 per cent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lift 0.35 per cent.

Rio Tinto fell 0.37 per cent to close at $130.49 while Fortescue jumped 1.48 per cent to finish at $26.05.The big banks gained ahead of trading updates in early May from NAB, Macquarie, Westpac and ANZ.

United States United States Latest News, United States United States Headlines

Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.

New Zealand no longer the lions’ den as Australian stocks riseThe ‘Lions phenomenon’ may be helping Australia’s Super Rugby contingent with the Rebels uncovering a new rising star.
Source: brisbanetimes - 🏆 13. / 67 Read more »

New Zealand no longer the lions’ den as Australian stocks riseThe ‘Lions phenomenon’ may be helping Australia’s Super Rugby contingent with the Rebels uncovering a new rising star.
Source: smh - 🏆 6. / 80 Read more »

ASX bank stocks: ‘Sell everything’ hard to put into practice for bank stocksThe big banks’ share prices have got ahead of their earnings outlook, but that doesn’t mean investors are dropping them en masse.
Source: FinancialReview - 🏆 2. / 90 Read more »