What's making news on the ASX on Wednesday

1. ASX200 follows Wall Street higher

The local share market has jumped at the open following a choppy session on Wall Street.

U.S. stocks jumped on weaker-than-expected U.S. inflation data, although pared much of the gains by late trade as investors turned their attention to the U.S. Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision tomorrow, with a half-percentage-point increase widely expected.

2. RBA governor delivers final speech for 2022

Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe has expressed his hope to continue in the role for a second term, during a Q&A session in Sydney on Wednesday.

Speaking at the annual 2022 AusPayNet Annual Summit, Mr Lowe pushed back against calls for him to resign, saying he has important work to do to get inflation lower.

"My term finishes in September next year," Mr Lowe said. "Whether I can join you [at this event] for a seventh time is not in my control. I hope so, but we'll see."

The RBA governor has been criticised for his communication during the pandemic, particularly over a decision to issue a forward guidance, telling borrowers interest rates were expected to remain on hold until at least 2024.

"There have been calls for me to resign. As I said before, I have no intention of resigning, I have an important job to do," Mr Lowe said.

"We've got to get inflation down and that's my focus, and I will keep doing that until at least September next year."

3. Westpac holds annual general meeting

Westpac (WBC) is the first of three big four banks set to hold their AGM this week, announcing the retirement of chairman John McFarlane in December next year.

ANZ (ANZ) will hold its AGM on Thursday and NAB (NAB) on Friday.

It follows a strong session for the banks on Tuesday, with Bendigo and Adelaide Bank (BEN) surging on the back of a solid trading update.

Morningstar senior equity analyst Nathan Zaia says the result was in line with Morningstar expectations, maintaining a fair value estimate on no-moat Bendigo and Adelaide Bank of $10.20.

AGM

ASX200

INFLATION

RBA

AUTHOR

Sarah Dowling
is editorial manager for Morningstar Australia

Securities mentioned

	Last	$ Change	% Change
ANZ Group Holdings Ltd ANZ	$27.68	0.33	-1.18%
Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Ltd BEN	$9.86	0.06	-0.60%
National Australia Bank Ltd NAB	$33.75	0.24	-0.71%

Latest prices where available.

© 2024 Morningstar, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither Morningstar, its affiliates, nor the content providers guarantee the data or content contained herein to be accurate, complete or timely nor will they have any liability for its use or distribution. This report has been prepared for clients of Morningstar Australasia Pty Ltd (ABN: 95 090 665 544, AFSL: 240892) and/or New Zealand wholesale clients of Morningstar Research Ltd, subsidiaries of Morningstar, Inc. Any general advice has been provided without reference to your financial objectives, situation or needs. For more information refer to our Financial Services Guide at www.morningstar.com.au/s/fsg.pdf. You should consider the advice in light of these matters and if applicable, the relevant Product Disclosure Statement before making any decision to invest. Our publications, ratings and products should be viewed as an additional investment resource, not as your sole source of information. Morningstar’s full research reports are the source of any Morningstar Ratings and are available from Morningstar or your adviser. Past performance does not necessarily indicate a financial product’s future performance. To obtain advice tailored to your situation, contact a financial adviser. Some material is copyright and published under licence from ASX Operations Pty Ltd ACN 004 523 782.