Banks, miners lift Australian shares; domestic inflation awaited
Banks, mining stocks lead AXJO higher
AXJO closes at highest since June 7
Aussie inflation print expected on Wednesday
By Roshan Thomas
June 25 (Reuters) -Australian shares ended higher on Tuesday on the back of banking and mining stocks amid broad-based gains across the benchmark, while investors awaited a crucial domestic inflation print later this week for clues on interest rate cuts.
The S&P/ASX 200 benchmark index .AXJO ended 1.4% higher at 7,838.80 points, its highest closing level since June 7.
Australian inflation data for May,due on Wednesday, will give investors insights into future rate decisions by the central bank. Analysts widely expect a marginal dip in living costs, which could prompt repricing of rate cut expectations, boosting equities.
"The upcoming CPI (consumer price index) print is expected to show a moderate dip, which would be a positive development for risk assets," Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade, said.
Analysts at Westpac and ANZ Group expect inflation in May to remain unchanged or dip slightly, respectively, with ANZ analysts adding that this could result in theReserve Bank of Australia (RBA) keepingits cash rate unchanged in August.
"While we think it's unlikely that the next move from the RBA would be a rate hike (rather than a cut), we can't rule it out," ANZ analysts added.
In Sydney, rate-sensitive banking stocks .AXFJ closed1.5% higher with the 'Big Four' banks ending between 0.6% and 2% as a high interest rate environment generally helps banks' margins.
Heavyweight miners .AXMM advanced 1.8% on the back of improving copper prices globally. Top minersBHP Group BHP.AX, Rio Tinto RIO.AX and Fortescue FMG.AX all added nearly 2%.
Among other sub-indexes, energy stocks .AXEJ gained 2.2%, real estate stocks .AXRE added 1.7%, while gold .AXGD and technology stocks .AXIJ logged nominal gains.
Across the Tasman Sea, the New Zealand benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 rose 0.8% to 11,716.44 points.
Reporting by Roshan Thomas in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema
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