The Australian share market has rebounded to finish slightly higher after the Reserve Bank held the cash rate at 1.5 per cent.
At the close, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index gained 5.5 points, or 0.1 per cent, at 5,484 points, after lingering in the red for most of the session.
The Reserve Bank kept the cash rate at 1.5 per cent on Tuesday as widely predicted by economists.
New RBA governor Philip Lowe’s accompanying statement resembled that of his predecessor’s Glenn Stevens, except that it left out an easing bias, CMC Markets chief market analyst Ric Spooner said.
“It had a neutral tone,” Mr Spooner said.
“The RBA didn’t have that big of an impact on the market.
“Overall, the characteristic of today at a macro level was cautious with not a lot to change investors’ attitudes as they keep a watching brief on Deutsche Bank.”
Deutsche Bank, Europe’s biggest investment bank, is negotiating a hefty fine with the US Justice Department for mis-selling mortgage backed securities.
The embattled German lender has stirred uncertainty among investors and has dented global risk appetite which in turn has affected Australian equities.
On the local bourse, the major banks finished mixed with Commonwealth Bank down 20 cents at $73.30, Westpac slipped three cents to $30.00, while ANZ gained 16 cents to $28.10 and National Australia Bank added five cents to $28.13.
BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto were higher, adding 0.66 per cent and 1.12 per cent, respectively.
The energy players were higher on stronger oil prices with Santos up 2.7 per cent, or 10 cents, to $3.80 and Woodside Petroleum up 0.69 per cent, or 20 cents, at $29.06.
KEY FACTS:
* At 1615 AEDT, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was up 5.5 points, or 0.1 per cent, at 5,484 points.
* The broader All Ordinaries index was up 5.1 points, or 0.09 per cent, at 5,569.9 points.
* The December share price index futures contract was up five points at 5,469, with 24,553 contracts traded.
* National turnover was 2.05 billion securities traded, worth $4.03 billion.
