The Australian market ended flat or unchanged on Wednesday, after eight consecutive sessions of gains, on weaker than expected economic data related to housing loans for owner-occupied houses. Profit taking in mining stocks following recent gains was offset by gains in banks on optimism about economic recovery. Trading volumes were relatively light as traders await further cues and direction on global economy.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 Index ended flat with a marginal loss of 0.10 points, to close at 4,820, while the All-Ordinaries Index ended at 4,830, representing a marginal gain of 0.50 points, or 0.01%.
On the economic front, a report released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed that the number of loans for housing in the country fell sharply in January. According to the report, the number of finance commitments for owner-occupied housing declined a seasonally adjusted 7.9% to 51,056 commitments in January compared to December. The report further noted that, in terms of value, total dwelling commitments declined 3.3% in January in seasonally adjusted terms compared to the previous month.
A statement released by the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations revealed that the country's leading indicator of employment fell for the second consecutive month in March. According to the statement, the index stood at minus 1.019 in March, down from minus 0.939 in February. Commenting on the latest reading, the department said, "It is too early to confirm that a slowing in the pace of employment growth below its upwardly revised long-term trend rate of 1.9% per annum is in prospect, because the Indicator has fallen for fewer than six consecutive months."
Results of a latest survey conducted by Westpac Bank and the Melbourne Institute revealed that consumer confidence in the country improved slightly in March. According to the survey results, the group's Consumer Sentiment Index for March was up 0.2% or 0.3 index points in March to 117.3 from 117.0 reported in February.
Light sweet crude oil futures for April delivery ended at $81.52 a barrel in electronic trading, up $0.03 per barrel from previous close at $81.49 a barrel in New York on Tuesday.
Banks continued to gain on optimism about economic growth. ANZ Bank advanced 0.50%, Commonwealth Bank of Australia gained 0.87% and Westpac Banking rose 1.33%. Investment banker Macquarie Group added 0.45%. However, National Australia Bank bucked the trend and ended in negative territory with a marginal loss of 0.26%.
Metals and mining stocks ended weaker as traders resorted to profit taking following recent rally. BHP Billiton slipped 0.37%, Rio Tinto shed 1.05%, Fortescue Metals fell 0.41%, Gindalbie Metals lost 0.45%, Illuka Resources declined 0.55% and Minara Resources was down by 1.80%.
Mixed trading was witnessed among gold stocks. While Lihir Gold rose 3.11%, Newcrest Mining ended in negative territory with a loss of 0.35%.
Mixed trading was also witnessed among oil stocks. Woodside Petroleum gained 0.60% and Oil Search rose 1.42%. However, Santos lost 1.28% and Origin Energy shed 1.65%.
Retail stocks ended mixed. David Jones gained 0.60%, JB Hi-Fi Ltd advanced 0.41%, and Woolworths added 0.28%. However, Wesfarmers Ltd lost 1.47%, Reject Shop shed 0.81% and Harvey Norman fell 1.26%.
In the U.S., stocks gave up the majority of their earlier gains and closed only modestly higher on Tuesday, as a lack of first-tier economic data and light trading volume limited movement in the equity markets. The major averages still all closed in positive territory, setting fresh highs on the one-year anniversary of the historic March lows. The Dow gained 11.86 points or 0.1% to end at 10,564, the Nasdaq advanced by 8.47 points or 0.4% to 2,341 and the S&P 500 rose by 1.94 points or 0.2% to 1,140.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.