The ASX set a new 100-day record after all four major banks agreed the Reserve Bank of Australia will cut rates at its February meeting.
The S&P/ASX 200 rallied 46.7 points, or 0.55%, to 8,493.7 points.
Over the last five days, the index has gained 1.37% and is currently 0.26% off its 52-week high.
All 11 sectors ended the day on a positive note. Energy gained 1.19% to lead the index higher, while the financial sector advanced 0.71% and materials rose 0.47%.
National Australia Bank Chief Economist Alan Oster says the bank now expects the RBA to cut the cash rate by 25 basis points in February.
“The Q4 CPI confirms that inflation has moderated more quickly than the RBA expected and sets up a likely downward revision to the inflation profile in the February statement on monetary policy,” he says.
“This now makes February the most likely starting point for a gradual easing in interest rates.”
In the top five by the closing bell was gold producer Emerald Resources (ASX:EMR), which closed up 6.43% at $4.14. Uranium miners Boss Energy (ASX:BOE) and Paladin Energy (ASX:PDN) were again top movers. Boss jumped 4.67% to $8.54 and Paladin advanced 3.77% to $8.54.
The bottom five were dominated by the financial stocks.
The S&P/ASX200 is Australia’s leading share market index and contains the top 200 ASX-listed companies in terms of market capitalisation, and accounts for about 80% of the country’s equity market. The index is designed to measure the performance of the 200 largest index-eligible stocks listed on the ASX by float-adjusted market capitalisation.
It is recognised as the institutional investable benchmark in the country.
Write to Angela East at Mining.com.au
Images: ASX & Stock
