• ASX ultimately ended in the red beyond today’s RBA decision, down -0.2pc
  • The RBA handed down a 25bp rise at today’s board meeting
  • Origin Energy shareholders urged to back takeover by proxy voting firm

 

The ASX fell -0.2% on Tuesday as cautious sentiment prevailed across major European and US equities markets overnight.

This afternoon, the Reserve Bank expectedly resumed its tightening cycle and lifted the cash rate to 4.35% after holding rates steady for four consecutive months. It was the 13th rate hike since May last year, taking the cash rate to its highest level in more than a decade.

“In order to keep inflation expectations anchored and maintain confidence in returning inflation to the target range within a reasonable timeframe, the Reserve Bank lifted interest rates again today,” said Eleanor Creagh, PropTrack’s Senior Economist.

Looking ahead, however, Creagh believes interest rates are either at, or close to, their peak.

“The outlook for the economy is weaker, however, population growth is set to continue rebounding strongly,” she said.

On the ASX, Healthcare, Tech, and Utility sectors led, while Financials and Real Estate lagged. All the major banks recorded losses, led by Westpac (ASX:WBC), which fell by almost -3%.

The Aussie dollar was unmoved at US64.66c after the RBA release, while bond yields were also muted.

Across the region, Asian shares declined ahead of China’s key trade data release that will provide clues on how its economy is doing.

 

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Origin Energy (ASX:ORG) rallied after proxy voting firm Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) said shareholders should back the US$12.6 billion takeover offer for Origin by the Brookfield-led consortium.

Origin’s biggest shareholder, AustralianSuper, had earlier deemed the offer “substantially below our estimate of Origin’s long-term value”, and has increased its stake in the Origin to 15.03%, from 13.7% last week.

 

BIG CAP LOSERS

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GQG Partners (ASX:GQG) lost 2% after reporting a drop in funds under management (FUM) from $105.8bn in September, to $103.9bn in October.

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