0034 GMT - Better prospects of an economic soft landing and satisfactory reporting season for Australian banks are likely to support the sector's share prices in the near term, Morgan Stanley analysts say in a note. It notes that the banks have healthy provisioning, capital, liquidity and dividend buffers. Despite this, MS reckons that Australian banks still face some headwinds that point to a more difficult outlook. "In particular, we believe there is downside risk to margins and growing pressure on costs. At the same time, loan growth is slowing and loan losses are rising, even though the economic risks have eased," MS says. It forecasts an earnings decline for the bank sector in FY 2024. (alice.uribe@wsj.com)
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 05, 2023 20:34 ET (00:34 GMT)
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