End-of-day summary:
Aussie shares powered to a fourth straight gain after the Reserve Bank left benchmark interest rates unchanged.
The ASX 200 added to early gains following the RBA's afternoon announcement, finishing the day 111 points or 1.44% higher. Today's rally sealed the index's longest winning run since February.
The RBA left the cash rate target at 4.35% and said it was "not ruling anything in or out" regarding future decisions. The bank acknowledged that inflation was too high and taking longer than expected to return to its 2-3% target range.
"The process of returning inflation to target is unlikely to be smooth," the bank wrote in a statement accompanying today's decision. "The central forecasts... are for inflation to return to the target range of 2-3 per cent in the second half of 2025, and to the midpoint in 2026."
The odds on an August rate hike fell to 32% this afternoon from 47% before today's announcement, according to CommSec.
All 11 Australian sectors rallied. Gains ranged from 1% for consumer staples up to 2.8% for utilities. Notable advances included uranium miner Paladin, AGL Energy and Star Entertainment.
