ASX edges down as rate cut uncertainty looms

The Australian sharemarket edged slightly lower as investors mulled the path forward for interest rates after Reserve Bank of Australia governor Michele Bullock warned on Tuesday that there could be more inflationary pressure in the economy than previously expected.
The S&P/ASX 200 index was down 0.1 per cent, or by 9.6 points, to 8804.10 at 10.12am AEDT , as bond traders reacted swiftly to her comments. For the first time in more than a year, an interest rate cut is no longer fully priced in this cycle, with now just a 69 per cent chance of a reduction in May compared to a fully priced cut in February.
Materials were the weakest sector, down 2.5 per cent as BHP dropped 1.2 per cent, Fortescue Metals by 3 per cent and Rio Tinto by 2 per cent. That came after iron ore declined 1.5 per cent overnight to $US103.45 per tonne as China backed plans to develop the Simandou project in Guinea - home to the world's largest known untapped iron ore reserves.
Coal miners weighed on energy as Whitehaven Coal fell 2.3 per cent and Yancoal by 1.9 per cent. Woodside fell 0.2 per cent as it used its 2025 capital markets day to outline plans to boost annual net operating cash flow to around $US9 billion by the early 2030s.
Technology followed a mega-caps-led Wall Street sell-off amid renewed concerns that valuations have leapt ahead of fundamentals. WiseTech Global declined 1.5 per cent, NextDC by 3.3 per cent and Xero by 1.2 per cent.

Sumber : AFR