It was a tale of two central banks on Tuesday as investors digested hawkish rhetoric from the Reserve Bank of Australia on inflation and interest rates and fresh support measures from the People’s Bank of China. The benchmark ASX200 slipped 10.9 points, or 0.
13 per cent, to settle at 8142 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index edged up a single point to close at 8385.1. Tech stocks lifted 0.
4 per cent to 3417. Six of 11 industry sectors ended in the red, with the big banks driving a 1.87 per cent slump in financials.
Commonwealth Bank lost 3.04 per cent to $138.06 a share, Westpac fell 2.
35 per cent to $32.82, ANZ shed 1.86 per cent to $31.
11 and NAB tumbled 3.02 per cent to $38.50.
Staples also continued yesterday’s sharp sell-off, with the sector falling another 1.86 per cent. Woolworths declined 2.
93 per cent to $42.80 and Coles retreated 3.01 per cent to $18.
03. But the materials sector soared 2.43 per cent after China’s central bank cut several key lending measures to prop up the Middle Kingdom’s ailing economy, including cash reserve requirements for Chinese banks and down payment rules for second homes.
BHP surged 3.29 per cent to $41.12, Rio Tinto rallied 3.
66 per cent to $116.45 and Fortescue climbed 1.75 per cent to $18.
“Today’s announcement removes some of the downside risks to Chinese growth and helps to end the downward spiral in the Chinese property market that has been observed over the past 15 months,” IG markets analyst Tony Sycamore sa.
