Market Wrap / February cut?

The local share market edged towards a record high during Wednesday's trade, while the Aussie slumped, as investors bet on a February rate cut following cooler-than-expected inflation.The S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.6% to close at 8447 points. 

Several economists have revised earlier calls with a more bullish stance towards a February rate cut after CPI showed inflation in the December quarter cooled on an annual basis to 2.4%.

All sectors closed in the green, although some market-heavyweights registered losses.

The rate-sentitive REITs pushed the market higher, with Mirvac up around 3%. DigiCo gained 3.3% on broker’s optimism for data centre operators. 

Market gains were also supported by a rebound in tech stocks, with the IT sector up 1.9%, correcting some of the DeepSeek shock.

Morningstar called Goodman Group's Tuesday decline a "reality check" on the data centre hype, calling GMG overvalued. The broker has a price target of $27 on the stock, well below the average target price of $40. Shares in Goodman Group rose by 1.8%.

The financial sector also sprung higher, despite CBA and NAB ending the day flat. Macquarie gained 0.7%.

On a positive day on the market, local miners offered a more contrasted picture, with BHP and Rio Tinto losing ground. However, Pilbara Minerals jumped 3.5%, with investors seemingly following CEO Dale Henderson expectations of higher lithium prices in the future. 

Tonight, the FOMC rate decision is in focus, with the Fed funds rate expected to stay on hold.