Minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) Sept.3 meeting, released earlier in the day, showed the central bank would consider additional easing if needed to support growth and achieve its 2% to 3% inflation target. Financial markets are fully priced for another rate cut to 0.75% by year-end, and to 0.5% by early 2020. "The Reserve Bank conveyed a more cautious global and domestic outlook in its September Board Minutes, paving the way for a rate cut soon," NAB analyst Kaixin Owyong said.
The healthcare sector climbed over 1% and was the session's best performer. Index behemoth CSL, which benefits from a weaker Aussie dollar since its has international revenue streams, climbed almost 2% to a one-week high. The energy subindex still managed to rise 0.7%, following a 4.3% jump on Monday. Oil and Gas major Woodside Petroleum rose nearly 2%, while Santos Ltd climbed nearly 1%.
Financial stocks also cheered the RBA's indications, gaining 0.5% at close, with three of the "Big Four" banks in positive territory. But gains on the Australian benchmark were limited by the mining index, which ended about 1% lower, hit by a fall in iron ore and steel prices after data showed a deepening slowdown in China's economy. Heavyweights BHP Group and Rio Tinto each closed about 1.5% down.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index climbed 0.3% or 36.28 points to finish the session at 10,868.03. Agribusiness firm Scales Corp ended the session almost 4% higher, while freight services provider Mainfreight Ltd gained about 3% at close.