CPI Check: Aussie Prices Hold Steady: ASX Market Recap 27th March

The Aussie market started the very early parts of the session in the red on Wednesday before ending the day higher, boosted by February’s CPI read, which showed annual inflation remained steady for the third straight month at 3.5%

The ASX 200 index ended the day 0.6% or 39.4 pts higher to 7,819.6, with nine of the 11 major sectors finishing higher. Defensive sectors Consumer Staples (+1.35%) and Industrials (+1.22%) were two of the larger movers, thanks to rises in Coles (+1.56%), Woolworths (+1.56%) and Brambles (+3.41%). Whilst Health Care (+1.28%) continued its recent positive run, CSL (+1.37%) and Resmed (+1.98%) finished the day in the green.

The Technology (-0.53%) sector was the worst performer on the day due to Wisetech Global (-1.07%) and NextDC (-1.29%) losing ground, followed by the Utilities (-0.17%) sector.

Australia’s Consumer Price Indicator (CPI) stayed at a 2-year low of 3.4% during February 24 from a year earlier, slightly less than economists’ estimates of 3.5% and unchanged from January and December’s readings.

Categories that saw prices fall or remain the same compared to January were:

• Food prices (3.6% vs 4.4% in Jan.)

• Alcohol and Tobacco (6.1% vs 6.7%)

• Communications (1.7% vs 2.0%)

• Furnishings, Household Equipment & Services (-0.3% vs 0.3%)

• Housing (4.6% vs. 4.6%)

• Health (3.9% vs. 3.9%)

Prices accelerated from January in:

• Transport (3.4% vs 3.0% in Jan.)

• Education (5.1% vs 4.7%)

• Clothing and Footwear (0.8% vs 0.4%)

In company news, Platinum Asset Management (-21.1%) shares plunged after an after-hours announcement on Tuesday revealed it had lost $1.4 billion in mandated funds from an undisclosed client. The drop in funds will result in around $18 million in lost fees each year, with the share price now down by over 40% in the last 12 months. APM Human Services went into a trading halt today, with a proposed buyer, CVC Asia Pacific, set to walk away from the company’s $1.83 billion buyout. CVC said that they could not proceed to finalise a transaction on terms consistent with their non-binding offer.” Westpac (-0.92%) revealed plans to simplify its technology structure under ‘Project Unite’, a four-year project to bring Westpac brands onto a single platform. The announcement fell flat with the market as it failed to outline the project’s cost.