Australian shares rise as soft US producer prices data lifts rate-cut hopes
Aug 14 (Reuters) -Australian shares rose on Wednesday for a fourth consecutive session after softer U.S. producer prices data reinforced bets of an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve in September.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO rose 0.6% to 7,872.2 by 0018 GMT in broad-broad buying.
U.S. producer prices increased less than expected in July as a rise in the cost of goods was tempered by cheaper services, indicating that inflation continued to moderate.
Investors now await all-important consumer price figures on Wednesday and retail sales data on Thursday to firm bets on an aggressive rate cut by the U.S. central bank.
Traders now see a 55% chance of a 50-basis-point rate cut in September by the Federal Reserve, up from less than 50% before the report, according to CME's FedWatch Tool.
A Fed rate cut will encourage other central banks to follow suit, including Australia where interest rates are at a 12-year high.
Overnight, the U.S. Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 1.04%. The S&P 500 .SPX gained 1.68%, while the Nasdaq .IXIC climbed 2.43%.
In Australia, corporate earnings took the limelight with top lender CBA CBA.AX reporting a smaller-than-expected fall in annual profit, sending its shares up 0.7%.
Shares of AGL Energy AGL.AX rose as much as 5.3% to hit their highest level in a year after the country's top power producer reported a nearly three-fold jump in annual profit.
Sector-wise, gold stocks .AXGD rose 1.5% to hit their highest level in three weeks as bullion prices hovered close to their all-time high. GOL/
Interest rate-sensitive real estate stocks .AXRE climbed 1% in their fourth consecutive session of gains. Financials .AXFJ rose 0.6%.
In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 gained 0.7% to 12,404.1.
Reporting by John Biju in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu
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