What’s going on here?

The Australian share The market rose for the second consecutive day, led by consumer and technology stocks, while commodity stocks struggled.

What does this mean?

The S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.5% to close at 7,813.7 points. JB Hi-Fi stole the show, jumping 8.3% after announcing a special promotion dividend and reported impressive annual results. Citi analysts highlighted that JB Hi-Fi’s update beat market expectations, with higher inventory levels signalling optimism for 2025. Consumer goods stocks Super Retail and Harvey Norman also posted gains of 5% and 3.7% respectively. In technology, CAR Group, formerly Carsales, rose 4.5% on strong annual results revenue of 1.1 billion Australian dollars. Beach Energy and Aurizon, on the other hand, suffered significant losses due to weak earnings and downwardly revised forecasts.

Why should I care?

For markets: Navigating the waters of uncertainty.

Australian financials also fared well, with the sub-index up 0.9%, driven by earnings from the four big banks, amid expectations that local unemployment figures could prompt the Reserve Bank of Australia to keep interest rates on hold. interest Prices are stable. Technology stocks also did not lag behind, with the sub-index gaining 1.9%, driven by Xero and Wisetech Global, which rose 1.4% and 2.7% respectively.

The overall picture: Global economic changes are on the horizon.

While Australian commodity stocks fell, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index rose 0.3%. Investors are watching the upcoming Reserve Bank of New Zealand interest rate decision. This week is crucial, with Australian unemployment figures for July due to be released on Thursday and key earnings reports expected from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and the National Australia Bank.