Australian shares edge higher as banks advance
Aug 15 (Reuters) -Australian shares edged higher on Thursday, helped by index heavyweight financials, while fresh U.S. inflation data reassured investors that the Federal Reserve would start cutting rates next month.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO rose 0.4% to 7,878.2 by 0011 GMT.
Data released on Wednesday showed that U.S. consumer prices rose moderately in July, opening the door wider for the Fed to cut rates next month.
The yield on benchmark 10-year Treasury notes US10YT=RR rose to 3.839%, compared with its U.S. close of 3.822%.
Overnight, the U.S. Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 0.61%. The S&P 500 .SPX gained 0.38%, while the Nasdaq .IXIC gained 0.03%.
Among individual stocks in Australia, Origin Energy ORG.AX fell as much as 10.3% after the power producer warned of a decline in electricity profits due to lower wholesale costs and reduced retail margins.
Shares of Telstra TLS.AX rose as much as 2.2% after the country's top telecom firm posted a near 16% drop in full-year profit.
Shares in hearing implants maker Cochlear COH.AX sank more than 8% on weaker-than-expected profit forecast.
Sector-wise, financials .AXFJ gained 0.9%, with the 'Big Four' banks rising between 0.8% and 1.9%.
Energy stocks .AXEJ rose nearly 1%. Brent crude LCOc1 futures rose 0.19% to $79.91 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 gained 0.27% to $77.19 per barrel.
Meanwhile, mining stocks .AXMM fell about 0.7%. Dalian iron ore futures DCIOcv1 fell 1.1% on Wednesday.
The Aussie dollar was 0.02% stronger against the U.S. dollar at A$0.66 on Thursday.
Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 fell 0.2% to 12,553.36.
New Zealand's central bank governor said the pace of future interest rate cuts will be determined by how prices track in coming months. The central bank slashed its benchmark rate on Wednesday for the first time since March 2020.
Reporting by Shivangi Lahiri and Roushni Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu
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