ASX 200 flat; Iron ore near 2023 low, Commonwealth Bank hits February high

Shares unchanged as miners, energy weigh. Iron ore near 2023 lows. CBA leads banking rally. Gold miners drop on rate fears. JP Morgan questions impact of fewer RBA meetings.

Earnings updates and economic developments are influencing equity and currency markets. Picture: Gaye Gerard

Welcome to the Trading Day blog for Thursday, April 20. A bounce by the banks could not overcome sharp falls by the miners as the Australian sharemarket closed unchanged following the release of the RBA “Fit for the Future” report.

The S&P/ASX 200 index closed down by 3.30 points to 7362.20, with seven of the 11 sectors in the red.

Wall Street is set for a soft start this evening with futures tied to the Nasdaq down by 0.5 per cent, S&P 500 off by 0.3 per cent and Dow futures were 0.1 per cent lower.

The dollar is near US67.20c at the close.