Sydney, Jan 7, 2026, 21:56 AEDT — Market closed
Australian shares ended slightly higher on Wednesday after a softer inflation print, as miners and rare-earth stocks outweighed a slide in banks. The S&P/ASX 200 added 12.8 points, or 0.15%, to 8,695.6, while the All Ordinaries rose 0.23% to 9,018.0. Lynas Rare Earths jumped 14.5%, but Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, ANZ and National Australia Bank fell 1.5% to 2.0%, and the benchmark clawed back only part of Tuesday’s 0.43% decline. 1
Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed consumer prices rose 3.4% in the year to November, slowing from 3.8% in October. The trimmed mean — a core gauge that strips out large moves — eased to 3.2%, keeping the focus on how soon the Reserve Bank of Australia might move again; December and quarterly CPI data are due on Jan. 28. 2
Westpac chief economist Luci Ellis called the result a “very pleasant surprise” and said there was “a lot of noise in the data” as electricity rebates roll off. She told ABC News that Commonwealth Bank and NAB still expect a 25-basis-point (a quarter-point) hike in February, while ANZ and Westpac see the cash rate staying at 3.6%; the Australian dollar slipped to 67.28 U.S. cents after the data. 3
Rare-earth shares drew fresh buying after China imposed export controls on dual-use items — goods with both civilian and military uses — to Japan, a move Tokyo condemned as “absolutely unacceptable”, Reuters reported. Economists cautioned the stand-off could widen to rare-earth supplies, a risk for manufacturers that still rely heavily on Chinese output and refining. 4
Commodity markets added to the bid for miners. Copper broke above $13,000 a tonne and set a record this week, while gold traded above $4,495 an ounce as investors paid up for havens amid geopolitical risk. 5
Energy shares lagged as oil prices fell. Brent crude slipped about 1% to around $60 a barrel after U.S. President Donald Trump said Venezuela would send 30 million to 50 million barrels of oil to the United States, adding to concerns about oversupply. 6
The benchmark closed just under the 8,700 level after a choppy start to the year, with investors rotating between resources and bank stocks. MarketIndex said the index has been trying to get back above key moving averages. 7
But a cooler CPI read does not end the rate debate. Inflation remains above the RBA’s 2%-3% target band, and any rebound in electricity and services costs could revive rate-rise bets and pressure banks and other rate-sensitive sectors.
