ASX edges up despite weaker bank shares as inflation cools

The Australian sharemarket edged up on Wednesday as materials and energy companies climbed and inflation figures came in softer than expected.

The S&P/ASX 200 was up 8.5 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 7,042.6 just after midday, even as most sectors traded down or flat.

Financials (down 0.8 per cent) and real estate (down 0.4 per cent) weighed down the index, as the big four banks traded lower. National Australia Bank shed 2 per cent, while the country’s biggest bank, CBA, lost 0.7 per cent. Logistics and infrastructure company Qube was the biggest large-cap decliner, dropping 2.5 per cent.

Materials companies comprised eight out of ten of the biggest large-cap climbers, as Northern Star Resources (up 1.8 per cent), Pilbara Minerals (up 3.5 per cent) and Allkem (up 1.8 per cent) all gained. Heavyweights BHP (up 1.2 per cent) and Fortescue (up 2 per cent) also buoyed the index. Professional technical services provider ALS added 4 per cent after it upgraded its profit forecast following the sale of its asset care business. Liontown Resources, which received a $5.5 billion takeover bid by American chemicals giant Albemarle on Tuesday, recouped losses from earlier in the day, adding 1.4 per cent.

The turnaround in Australian markets also came after the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ monthly inflation data came in softer than expected. The consumer price index for February increased 6.8 per cent in the year to February, down from 7.4 per cent in January, indicating that inflation may be softening.

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Meanwhile, stocks were mixed as Wall Street regained some stability at the tail end of what’s been a turmoil-filled month.

The S&P 500 dipped 0.2 per cent, though the majority of stocks within the index rose. The Dow Jones slipped 0.1 per cent and the Nasdaq composite fell 0.4 per cent.

There was relative calm even in the bond market, which has been home to some of Wall Street’s wildest moves since fears flared about the banking system earlier this month. Yields were rising only modestly following their historic-sized moves in prior weeks.