The laggards

Woolworths, which shed 4.2 per cent, was the worst performing mega-cap after its half-year profit missed expectations and the company flagged rising costs. Rival Coles, which this week reported its business grew by 5.1 per cent compared to Woolworths’ 1.5 per cent in the March quarter, also slipped 1.8 per cent.

Power giant AGL was down 1.9 per cent, Harvey Norman fell 1.8 per cent and Sonic Healthcare declined 1.6 per cent.

In economic news, Australia’s trade surplus for March shrank to just over $5 billion – the lowest level since 2020 – according to National Australia Bank. Economists had been forecasting a surplus of about $7 billion.

The bank said the decline was largely due to soaring goods imports, which hit a record high of $39.9 billion, while exports remained relatively steady.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics also issued a report that showed dwelling approvals fell 1.9 per cent in February, after a 2.5 per cent fall in January.

The lowdown

On Wall Street overnight, the S&P 500 Index fell 0.3 per cent after seeing a big afternoon rally evaporate. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.2 per cent, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index lost 0.3 per cent.

Amazon shares jumped 2.3 per cent after the online sales giant reported stronger profit for its latest quarter than analysts expected. The retail behemoth credited re-accelerating growth at its cloud-computing business, in part, as it benefits from demand for artificial intelligence.

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Fed chief Powell said inflation is taking longer than expected to get under control. However, he said the next move in official interest rates is unlikely to be a rise – a revelation that helped stabilise the bond market.

Treasury yields eased significantly after Powell’s comments.

The Fed also offered financial markets some assistance by saying it would slow the pace of how much it is shrinking its holdings of Treasuries. Such a move could help grease the trading wheels in the financial system, offering further stability in the bond market.

Powell said it would take “longer than previously expected” for the Fed to become confident enough to cut rates. However, his comments tempered market fears that inflation has been so persistently high that more rate hikes were a possibility.

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Quote of the day

“Economic growth is slowing and the higher cost of living, resulting from both higher rates and inflation, is being felt by more households as well as businesses,” NAB’s new CEO Andrew Irvine said in his first results since taking the helm. “They are not enjoying it, but they are getting by.”

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With AP

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