Stocks end mixed, miners surge

The local benchmark has ended little changed, but materials jumped 2 per cent.

The Australian sharemarket has ended marginally higher as investors piled into the big miners but shunned sectors seen as the main beneficiaries of a potential rate cut.

The lacklustre action followed the release of quarterly inflation data that failed to enhance the chances of an RBA move next week.

At the closing bell, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index lifted 2.2 points, or 0.04 per cent, to 5,539.7, while the broader All Ordinaries index inched up 2.4 points, or 0.04 per cent, to 5,615.

The negligible rise again led the index to its highest close since August last year, but gains lacked conviction after a solid start to the session.

The only exception was the materials space, which jumped 2 per cent as the big miners were aided by higher commodity prices and Fortescue received a boost from news its strategic talks with Vale were progressing.

BHP surged 3.1 per cent to $19.86, Rio Tinto advanced 1.9 per cent to $49.60 and Fortescue bounded 7 per cent to $4.41 after it released its latest production numbers.

In contrast the utilities and retail sectors stumbled, with the former the market laggard thanks to a 1.5 per cent retreat.

The two industries typically rise when rates are cut as utilities are seen to offer a stable yield option and retail is tipped to benefit from an uptick in consumer sentiment.

At this stage a rate cut is seen as a 50-50 proposition next week and while Q2 inflation was shown to be at its weakest level in 17 years, analysts said the ‘in-line’ result would make the Reserve Bank’s decision a difficult one.

“On balance, we believe today’s CPI is enough to get the RBA across the line for a cut in August, but the lack of downward surprise today, and better recent data, makes this a closer call,” UBS economist Scott Haslem said.

Among the bigger names in the utilities and retail sectors, AGL stumbled 1.6 per cent, Woolworths gave back 0.3 per cent and Wesfarmers edged down 0.2 per cent.

The finance sector ended around the flatline, with Westpac’s 0.2 per cent gain outpacing its rivals. NAB and Commonwealth Bank both ended marginally in the red.

The moves came amid a big day of news for the sector as ANZ beat a card fees class action in the High Court and the other three big banks outlined a plan to work together on mobile payments in a bid to counter the influence of tech giant Apple.

In energy, Santos ended flat at $4.56 and Woodside rose 0.04 per cent to $27.13 after crude prices finished mixed in offshore trade.

Elsewhere, GrainCorp slumped 5.7 per cent to $8.15 after key shareholder Archer Daniels Midland botched a planned exit from the register, while Virgin closed steady at 21.5c after Etihad confirmed an intention to participate in the airline’s capital raising.

Among blue chips, Telstra retreated 0.69 per cent to $5.73 and Qantas lost 0.3 per cent to $3.02.

Meanwhile, the Australian dollar slumped US0.4c to US74.75c at the end of local trade, quickly giving up gains seen in the immediate aftermath of the inflation data as traders weighed the prospect of a rate cut at home and monetary policy updates in the US and Japan.