Day traders' after-market lounge March 19

Thanks afternoon crew.

End-of-day summary:

The share market built on early gains after the Reserve Bank appeared to soften its hawkish stance on interest rates, clearing the way for cuts later this year.

Strong gains in iron ore had the ASX 200 in positive territory ahead of this afternoon's central bank announcement. The rally accelerated after the RBA left its benchmark rate on hold at 4.35%, as widely expected, but tempered the wording of the accompanying policy statement. The index finished the session 27 points or 0.36% higher.

The key change in the central bank's monetary policy statement replaced the phrase "a further increase in interest rates cannot be ruled out" with the more neutral "the Board is not ruling anything in or out". The dollar fell from 65.63 US cents to 65.3 cents, a sign traders interpreted the statement as less hawkish for rates.

Governor Michele Bullock later told a press conference the war on inflation was not over and she was unwilling to rule out additional rate hikes. Cuts would not be on the table until policy-makers were "much more confident" about bringing inflation down to target.

Iron ore miners rallied as the most active ore contract on China's Dalian Commodity Exchange jumped 4.5% this afternoon. Fortescue Metals tacked on 3.59%, BHP 2.78% and Rio Tinto 2.48%. Telstra, the major supermarkets and Wesfarmers were among today's biggest drags.

Wall Street advanced overnight ahead of a Federal Reserve rates decision and policy update tomorrow night. The S&P 500 gained 0.63%.