ASX200 finishes at 8,091.9 points at Friday’s close

The Aussie share marked finished the week off – and reporting season – on a positive note as it marked the third straight week of gains. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 closed higher, gaining 46.8 points or 0.58 per cent to finish the day on 8,091.9 points. The broader All Ordinaries also gained, adding 53.10 points or 0.64 per cent to finish 8,316.7 points at the close. The Australian dollar was slightly up, at US68.03 cents. Eight of the 11 sectors finished in the green, as industrials and energy sectors saw the higher gains. The top performing stocks in this index were Downer Edi Ltd and Karoon Energy Ltd, up 16.95 per cent and 9.52 per cent respectively. At the other end, Ramsay Health Care dived 6.8 per cent following a disappointing outlook. Harvey Norman dipped 6.3 per cent after the retailer posted a 34.7 per cent slide in its full-year net profit to $352.45m. In its reporting on Friday, the retail also confirmed its total sales for the group fell 3.6 per cent to $8.862bn, with the final dividend kept flat at 12c. Meanwhile, consumer stocks also lost ground at the close, in the wake of July CPI data which landed at 3.5 per cent on Friday. CBA senior economist Belinda Allen circulated a note highlighting a “steady flow of economic data” this week. “A number of partial data was released ahead of the June quarter National Accounts, as well as July retail trade data,” Ms Allen said. “All eyes were on the July CPI indicator. “It printed at 3.5 per cent, just above our and the consensus forecast of 3.4 per cent per year. “There was however a very wide range of economist forecasts, ranging from 2.7 per cent per year to 3.9 per cent per year given the uncertainty as to how state and federal electricity rebates would flow through in July. “Ultimately the number showed disinflation continued in July and broadened with electricity rebates not the sole driver.” Ms Allen said electricity prices in the CPI fell by 6.4 per cent per month, which was close to the bank’s forecast for a 5.0 per cent per month decline. “Abstracting from the impacts of energy bill relief, the disinflationary impulse continued to broaden,” she said. “The number of items in the CPI basket with annual inflation below 2 per cent continued to rise and now outnumbers the number of items with prices growing above the RBA’s inflation target band. “Electricity prices are expected to fall by 20 per cent in August as the Federal government rebates commence. “We expect the August CPI Indicator to print with a 2 handle.” Next week, Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock will be making two public statements on Thursday. It will be the first public statement from Ms Bullock in a couple of weeks. It comes as two out of four major banks believe the Reserve Bank will begin cutting rates from February. ANZ chief executive Shayne Elliott says the bank is expecting the RBA to reduce the cash rate by a total of 75 basis points early in 2025. “Lower interest rates will be welcome relief for borrowers who have faced high debt costs for some time, although savers will face lower returns,” he told a parliamentary review into Australia’s big four banks on Friday. “But we’re very conscious of the pressure that high higher debt costs have placed on many of our customers, who are also managing bigger bills for everyday essentials.” Overseas, the Dow closed a record high gaining 0.59 per cent, while the S&P 500 remained flat and Nasdaq fell 0.23 per cent.