The local share market has pushed further into record territory amid potential peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, even as rising US inflation cast doubt on the prospect of more rate cuts this year.
Shortly after noon AEDT on Thursday the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 24.2 points, or 0.28 per cent, to 8,559.5.
At 11.49am the ASX200 reached as high as 8,575.2 – breaking its previous intraday record of 8,566.9, set on January 31.
The ASX200 also set an all-time closing high on Wednesday.
US government statistics released overnight showed that monthly headline inflation rose 0.5 per cent in January, much higher than expected and the biggest jump since August 2023. This brought the annual rate of inflation to 3.0 per cent, from 2.9 per cent previously.
‘The January CPI print was much hotter than expected and will likely make for a very uncomfortable reading for the Federal Reserve,’ said Seema Shah, chief global strategist at Principal Asset Management.
The future market’s implied odds that the Fed would have left rates on hold by the end of July rose to 56.7 per cent after the readout, from 40.9 per cent a day before, according to CME FedWatch.
Meanwhile US President Donald Trump and Russia President Vladimir Putin held a 90-minute phone call where they agreed that negotiations to end the war in Ukraine should begin immediately.
The ASX200 was up 0.3 per cent and had set a new intraday record high of 8,575 amid earnings reports and potential peace talks between Ukraine and Russia
‘As we both agreed, we want to stop the millions of deaths taking place in the War with Russia/Ukraine,’ Mr Trump posted on social media.
‘We agreed to work together, very closely, including visiting each other’s nations.’
Five of the ASX’s 11 sectors were higher at midday and six were lower.
Utilities was the biggest mover, dropping 1.7 per cent as AGL fell 5.8 per cent, a day after releasing its half-year earnings.
In the financial sector, IAG had plunged 10.4 per cent to a three-month low of $7.995 after the insurance giant posted better-than-expected earnings but a lower-than-expected dividend.
Suncorp was down five per cent and QBE had fallen 1.4 per cent.
Shares in the ASX itself were up 7.1 per cent to $67.71 after the market operator posted an underlying half-year profit of $253.7 million, up 10.1 per cent from a year ago.
In the consumer discretionary sector, Temple & Webster had soared 14.3 per cent to an all-time high of $16.32 after the furniture e-retailer reported that its first-half profit had more than doubled to $9 million, as sales rose 23.6 per cent to $313.7 million.
‘Temple & Webster has again delivered a record half, with strong performance against all key metrics, against a challenging macro and consumer backdrop,’ said CEO Mark Coulter.
Domain Holdings had climbed 11 per cent to $3.03 after the property website delivered $33.1 million in half-year profit, up 28.3 per cent from a year ago.
In the heavyweight mining sector, BHP was up 2.4 per cent, Fortescue had climbed 2.1 per cent and Rio Tinto had advanced 1.7 per cent.
Three of the four big retail banks were higher, with ANZ up 1.2 per cent, Westpac climbing 1.5 per cent and NAB adding 0.7 per cent. CBA was the outlier, basically flat at $166.05 – near its all-time high.
The Australian dollar meanwhile was buying 62.82 US cents, from 62.93 US cents at 5pm on Wednesday.
