The Australian stock market has picked up after a poor start and is relatively flat, after the Reserve Bank signalled that it remains open to further cuts to interest rates.
OptionsXpress market analyst Ben Le Brun said the local bourse had swung upwards soon after the release on the minutes of the Reserve Bank’s May board meeting at 1130 AEST on Tuesday.
“Those RBA minutes have struck a chord this morning and got us off the canvas,” Mr Le Brun said.
In the minutes of the May board meeting, the central bank indicated that the lack of “any guidance on the future path of monetary policy” accompanying its May decision would not prevent it from again moving in rates, if needed.
“Members did not see this as limiting the board’s scope for any action that might be appropriate at future meetings,” the RBA said.
The RBA cut the cash rate by 0.25 percentage points on May 5, taking it to a historic low of two per cent.
The major banks lifted after the RBA minutes were released.
At 1200 AEST, the Commonwealth Bank was 39 cents higher at $83.39, Westpac was up 59 cents at $32.81, ANZ lifted eight cents to $32.36, but National Australia Bank was down 15 cents at $33.85.
In the resources sector, global miner BHP Billiton was down 40 cents at $29.73, Rio Tinto was off 58 cents at $56.87, BHP spin-off South32 was up 23 cents at $2.28, and Fortescue Metals had dipped three cents to $2.26.
Explosives supplier Orica was 35 cents weaker at $20.81 after it appointed Alberto Calderon as its new chief executive, almost two months after he temporarily stepped in to the role following the sudden departure of Ian Smith.
Prima BioMed surged 1.2 cents, or 54.55 per cent, to 3.4 cents after the biotech announced strong results for its ovarian cancer treatment.
KEY FACTS
* At 1204 AEST on Tuesday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 4.7 points, or 0.08 per cent, at 5,654.5 points.
* The broader All Ordinaries index was down 3.9 points, or 0.07 per cent, at 5,656.1 points.
* The March share price index futures contract was two points lower at 5,663 points, with 20,199 contracts traded.
* National turnover was 841.1 million securities worth $2.6 billion.
