Sun, 5th May 2024

In this week's Finance News Wrap, Paige Estritori reviews key financial events, including the surprising Q1 inflation rise leading to market shakiness and majorly decreasing interest rate cut prospects by the Reserve Bank of Australia. Despite this, certain financial sectors did see profit, with Westpac performing notably well; however, mixed results for others revealed the impact of shifting market conditions. Significant losses were observed in Perpetual, Kogan due to poor sales, and the major banks. Unexpected CPI data resulted in the S&P/ASX200 dipping significantly, and market anticipation for rate hikes. Corporate activities saw Metcash getting approval to acquire Superior Food Services despite dropping shares, while trading holds were in place for Nick Scali as expansion news surfaced. Meanwhile, rumours of a Cleanaway merger were debunked. This episode provides a comprehensive overview of the past week's trends and movements in the Australian financial sector.