ASX hits fresh record on rate cut hopes; Qantas dips, Domino’s tanks

Welcome to your five-minute recap of the trading day.

The numbers

The Australian sharemarket hit a fresh record close on Wednesday after government data showed retail sales rose less than expected in May, cementing traders’ expectations for another interest rate cut as soon as next week.

The S&P/ASX 200 finished up 56.6 points, or 0.7 per cent, at 8597.70. All of its 11 industry sectors were in the green bar tech stocks, with miners and real estate investment trusts leading the charge. The Australian dollar traded down 0.2 per cent at US65.71¢ shortly after 5pm AEST.

The ASX hit a fresh record on Wednesday.Credit: Dominic Lorrimer

The winners

The materials sector, up 1.8 per cent, was boosted by strong gains in the mining heavyweights with iron ore giants BHP, Fortescue and Rio Tinto up 1.7 per cent, 3.8 per cent and 2.1 per cent respectively.

Building materials maker James Hardie rose 5.3 per cent, extending its gains from earlier this week after shareholders of US building supplier Azek approved its $14 billion takeover. South32 was up 5 per cent and Bluescope Steel gained 4.7 per cent.

Rio Tinto Group’s port facility in Karratha, Western Australia.Credit: Bloomberg

Real estate investment trusts gained amid the rate cut bets. Data centre and warehouse giant Goodman Group climbed 2 per cent, and shopping centre landlords Stockland and Scentre gained 2 per cent and 2.8 per cent, respectively. Office tower owner Dexus climbed 3.1 per cent.

The losers

It was more bad news for struggling pizza chain Domino’s as chief executive Mark van Dyck said he would resign in December after less than a year in the role. The share price ended 15.8 per cent lower on the news, having slumped more than 26 per cent at some point during the session. Chair Jack Cowin, 82, one of the founders of KFC Australia, will take over executive duties as the company searches for a new boss.

Queried on the outsized market reaction by the ASX in afternoon trade, the pizza chain said it wasn’t “aware of any reason for the recent trading in its securities other than the market announcement made [...] regarding leadership changes.”

Jack Cowin (right) is Domino’s chairman and also the largest shareholder. Mark van Dyck (centre) has announced his impending resignation. Credit: Peter Wallis

Qantas shares fell 2.2 per cent after the airline revealed up to six million customers had personal data stolen in a cyber attack on one of its call centres - one of the biggest data breaches at an Australian company in recent years. While no financial information was stolen, the airline said the amount of customer data accessed by the hackers was significant.

Insurance company Helia saw its share price crash down 21.4 per cent after it announced it is likely to lose ING as a client for its lenders’ mortgage insurance work. The board has commenced a comprehensive business review as ING begins negotiating with a new LMI provider, Helia said.

The lowdown

Despite the health of the sharemarket, which finished last financial year up almost 10 per cent, Australians are still holding on to their wallets. The underwhelming retail spending is strengthening the case the RBA should cut interest rates further, economists said.

Figures released on Wednesday by the Australian Bureau of Statistics indicated sales grew just 0.2 per cent in May, up from a flat result in the prior month and compared with a forecast 0.5 per cent increase, cementing expectations for a rate cut in July.

“We continue to see retail sales as well as consumer spending improving throughout 2025, driven by improving real wages and milder inflation rates and as rate cuts start to make an impact, but the progress in retail spending has been disappointing in the past few months.” said AMP economist My Bui in a note to investors.

“This is another argument for the RBA to deliver more rate cuts this year.”

Commonwealth Bank economist Harry Ottley also said the “hard data on household consumption continues to disappoint,” which should put further pressure on the RBA to cut rates.

Reserve Bank of Australia governor Michele Bullock.Credit: AP

″We continue to expect household consumption to improve over the forecast horizon, but the timing and strength of this is a key uncertainty,” he said in an investment note.

But investors shouldn’t get carried away, warns Betashares chief economist David Bassanese. He reckons the retail figures do “not necessarily give the green light to the RBA to cut interest rates next week”.

“Prudence suggests the RBA should and would await confirmation of lower inflation in the quarterly CPI report before cutting again in August - despite the market pricing a rate cut next week with near certainty.”

Quote of the day

‘When frequent flyer numbers are exposed alongside personal details like name, date of birth, along with email and phone, it opens the door to account compromise, now or down the track.’

Air mile expert Adele Eliseo regarding the Qantas cyberattack

Tweet of the day

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