Australian Shares Flat; Betmakers Signs Racing Content Distribution Deal With Penn Entertainment

Australian shares were flat with a positive bias at Wednesday's close, amid softer-than-expected domestic data that raised interest rate bets.

The S&P/ASX 200 was little changed to close at 8,595.2.

Australia's gross domestic product rose 0.4% in the September quarter, below expectations of 0.7%, Bloomberg reported.

Unit labour costs, a gauge of inflation, rose 4.9% from last year, highlighting that the growth in wages is not consistent with the Central Bank's inflation target.

"Markets are beginning to price in RBA cash rate hikes more confidently, with current swap rates implying about a 60% chance of a 25bp increase next year," said Mantas Vanagas, Senior Economist, Westpac Group.

The Australian Industry Index fell 0.6 points in November to a negative 12.5, due to softer demand and inquiry levels, Ai Group said in a report.

Australia's services sector accelerated in November, driven by a surge in new domestic and export business, supporting job creation despite

modest inflation pressures, according to a monthly survey by S&P Global.

Australia's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 0.4% in the September quarter on a seasonally adjusted, chain volume basis, after a 0.7% growth in the June quarter, according to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

In company news, Betmakers Technology Group (ASX:BET) signed a new three-year agreement with Penn Entertainment, effective Jan. 1, 2026, under which BetMakers will continue to be the exclusive international distributor of Penn's racing content for fixed odds, derivative bets, and exchange wagering. Shares of the company rose past 12% at market close.

4DMedical (ASX:4DX) secured an expansion of its distribution agreement with Koninklijke Philips for CT:VQ, the company's post-processing imaging software. Shares of the company rose past 16% at market close.

Lastly, Vulcan Energy Resources (ASX:VUL) secured a 2.2 billion euro financing package to fully fund the construction and development of the first phase of the Lionheart lithium and renewable energy project in Germany.