To The Moon

The Australian sharemarket opened higher on Friday, following Wall Street gains, after fresh inflation data revived hopes of a January interest rate cut by the US Federal Reserve.

The S&P/ASX 200 index was up 0.5%, or 41.70 points, to 8629.90 at 10.10am AEDT, with nine of the 11 sectors in positive territory. For the week, the benchmark is on track to fall 0.8%.

Investor sentiment was supported after core consumer prices rose 2.6% year-on-year in November, while the overall CPI increased 2.7% over the same period. ANZ reports that markets are now pricing about a 25% chance of a January reduction and a near-certain move by April.

“November’s inflation undershoot has armed Fed doves with strong ammunition for a January rate cut,” Principal Asset Management’s Seema Shah said in a note. “It’s just one month of data, and distortions can’t be ruled out, but the sharp drop in annual inflation leaves the Fed with little excuse not to respond to rising unemployment.”

Technology was the strongest sector on the ASX as TechnologyOne rose 2.1%, NextDC 1.1% and Xero by 3.1%. WiseTech Global rose 3.3% after a board review into co-founder and executive chair Richard White found no further issues to investigate.

In materials, IGO and Liontown rallied 2.2 and 3.5% respectively amid higher lithium prices after China moved to revoke 27 expired mining permits in a key region. The major miners of BHP, Rio Tinto, and Fortescue were all down.

In the company news, Macquarie added 1.6% after its Macquarie Securities arm was hit with a $35 million fine after admitting to the corporate regulator that it misreported up to 73 million short sales over a 15-year period.

4DMedical soared 14.2% as it secured a commercial agreement with Cleveland Clinic to deploy its CT:VQ respiratory imaging technology.

Austal advanced 2.4% as it secured a further contract extension to build two additional Evolved Cape-class patrol boats for the Australian Border Force, in a deal valued at more than $135 million.

Qube Holdings firmed 1% as it confirmed that Macquarie Asset Management has provided the required confirmation to allow the exclusivity period under their process and exclusivity deed to continue.

Aussie Broadband rose 0.2% after warning the ACCC’s new regulated voice interconnection rates would cut earnings from its wholesale networks, with an annualised EBITDA impact of $3 million in FY27 and $6 million in FY28.

Peter Warren Automotive jumped 6.6% following plans to acquire Wakeling Automotive, a multi-franchise group operating 30 dealerships across Macarthur, Wollongong, Shellharbour, and Moss Vale.