ASX 200 hits eight-week high; Southern Cross rejects approach; Santos court blow
Southern Cross rebuffs Catalano merger offer. Santos blocked from laying entire Barossa pipelines. Wages rise 1.3 per cent in 3Q. Optus says parent company Singtel's upgrade triggered outage. Platinum gets first strike.
Welcome to the Trading Day blog for Wednesday, November 15. The ASX 200 index closes 1.4 per cent higher at 7105.90 points, after Wall Street's biggest gains in seven months. Property, tech and mining stocks lead ASX gains. US inflation slowed more than expected, raising hopes the Federal Reserve is done raising rates for now.
The Australian dollar jumped 2 per cent overnight and is now trading near US65.02c.
ASX 200 falls on China update; BHP leads mining reversal
Iron ore, copper futures, AUD down after China's underwhelming economic update. RBA's 'step down' in hawkishness evident in September minutes, but deputy governor Andrew Hauser says inflation job's not done yet.
ASX 200 rises on banks; Arcadium top gainer
Rio Tinto's takeover approach lifts Arcadium Lithium appeal. West African Resources drops on Burkina Faso mining concerns. Qantas may avoid second strike after proxy backing.