End-of-day summary:
The share market finished its first losing month since October with a second day of gains as soft March retail sales data soothed fears of another rate hike.
The ASX 200 rallied 27 points or 0.35% this afternoon as investors bought lithium miners, consumer stocks and property and healthcare firms. Those gains helped offset selling pressure from gold miners, industrials and utilities.
Retail sales declined 0.4% last month, continuing a run of weak results that reinforce the impact of higher interest rates on consumers. The odds on a September rate hike halved to 25% following the report.
“Underlying retail turnover has been flat for the past six months and was up only 0.8 per cent compared to March 2023," Ben Dorber, ABS head of retail statistics, said. "Outside of the pandemic period and introduction of the GST, this is the weakest growth on record when comparing turnover to the same time in the previous year.”
US stocks edged higher overnight ahead of tomorrow night's Federal Reserve rates decision and press conference, and earnings this week from Apple and Amazon. The S&P 500 rose 0.32%.
The ASX's fierce recovery since October stuttered this month as a run of strong economic reports and "sticky" inflation readings here and in the US forced investors to revise expectations for interest rate cuts this year. The ASX 200 skidded 233 points or 2.95% in April as bond yields hit new highs for the year. Higher rates hit consumers in the pocket, increase costs for many businesses and devalue share valuations based on future corporate earnings.
