Market Wrap / cut clarity

It was a fourth day of gains for the local market during Wednesday's trade, with the S&P/ ASX 200 climbing 0.7% to 8126.20 points, a two-month high.

The market still offered a contrasting picture, with the miners and defensive players being sold-off. 

The materials sector receded 0.4% on China’s manufacturing PMI falling lower than anticipated. 

Coles fell 0.7% as it reported a revenue increase of 3.7% over the quarter. 

But trimmed annual inflation at 2.9%, back into the RBA range, infused optimism among the REITs with the sector up 1.5%. This figure seems to confirm the analysts’ anticipations for a rate cut come May 20. 

In the banking space, Westpac has warned its first half net profit will be reduced by $140 million. It still gained 0.6%, but was behind its Big Four peers. 

Elsewhere, Woodside Energy has announced a new gas supply agreement with BP for its Louisiana LNG project. This sent the stock up 0.4%.

And Star Entertainment was among a batch of companies reporting quarterlies today. Star’s quarterly loss has widened due to dwindling visitor numbers, notably in Queensland casinos due to storms. Shares remained unchanged at $0.10. 

Overnight, we’ll get a read on the US GDP, coming after data revealing subdued consumer sentiment.

Locally, trade data are released tomorrow.