ASX200 – Central Bank Chatter and China Inflation in Focus

The ASX200

It was a 4^th consecutive day in the green for the ASX200 on Wednesday. Following a 0.95% gain on Tuesday, the ASX200 rose by 1.25% to end the day at 7,406.

Mining stocks, the big-4 banks, and tech stocks were on the move as the Asia markets responded to solid overnight gains on Wall Street.

Crude oil and commodity prices bounced back on news that there was evidence of vaccine resilience against the Omicron strain.

The Stats

There were no major stats from Australia to provide direction.

The Market Movers

It was a relatively bullish day for the banks. Macquarie Group led the way, rallying by 1.30%, with NAB ending the day up by 1.02%. ANZ (+0.73%), CBA (+0.33%), and Westpac (+0.57%) saw relatively modest gains, however.

Commodity stocks also had a bullish session. Fortescue Metals Group Ltd rallied by 3.27% to lead the way, with Rio Tinto and BHP Group rising by 2.18% and by 1.85% respectively. Newcrest Mining ended the day up by 0.94%.

Other Asian Markets

Elsewhere, it was a bullish session. The CSI300 and the Nikkei 225 rallied by 1.50 and by 1.42% respectively, with the Hang Seng Index gaining 0.06%.

The Day Ahead

It’s a particularly quiet day ahead on the Aussie economic calendar. There are no material stats from Australia to provide direction through the session.

On the monetary policy front, RBA Governor Lowe is scheduled to speak, however, and could move the dial.

From China, inflation figures for November will influence. Another spike in inflation could test support for riskier assets and the general consensus that inflation remains transitory.

Away from the economic calendar, while the markets move forward on Omicron optimism, next week’s FOMC meeting is nearing.

The Futures

In the futures markets, at the time of writing, the ASX200 was down by 27 points.

For a look at all of today’s economic events, check out our economic calendar.