Australian Shares Flat; Macquarie Group Says Unit to Repay Shield Investors

Published on 09/25/2025 at 02:45 am EDT
(MT Newswires) -- Australian shares were flat with a positive bias at Thursday's close, amid several Federal Reserve officials' warnings that the Central Bank should be cautious about interest rate cuts.
The S&P/ASX 200 was little changed to close at 8,773.
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President Mary Daly said further interest rate cuts are likely needed to restore price stability and support the labor market, but emphasized that policymakers should proceed cautiously, Bloomberg reported.
"Some measured language from Fed officials this week, chiefly Chairperson Jerome Powell, has sucked the momentum out of the equity market rally, which is well overdue for a little pullback," wrote Kyle Rodda, a senior market analyst at Capital.com in Melbourne, as quoted in Bloomberg.
On the domestic front, seasonally adjusted job vacancies in Australia fell 2.7% to 327,200 in the three months to August, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said.
Australia's Consumer Price Index rose 3% in August, a notch above the market's median estimate of 2.9%, as higher services and dwelling costs offset lower electricity prices, Westpac Banking (ASX:WBC, NZE:WBC) said.
Australia's Consumer Price Index for August, which came in higher than expected, has dented hopes of a rate cut in November, as housing and services prices fuel inflationary pressures, Commonwealth Bank of Australiasaid.
In company news, Macquarie Groupsaid its unit Macquarie Investment Management will repay shareholders who invested in the Shield Master Fund through the Macquarie wrap platform after the Australian Securities and Investments Commission started proceedings against the unit. Shares of the company fell past 1% at market close.
Liontown Resources reported Thursday fiscal year 2025 loss of AU$0.08 per share, compared with a loss of AU$0.028 a year earlier. Shares of the company fell 1% at market close.
Lastly, James Hardie Industries' management and board are not being held accountable for delivering adequate returns after the company acquired US outdoor building products maker Azek in a cash-and-stock transaction for $8.4 billion. Shares of the company fell 3% at market close and earlier hit a 52-week low.

Sumber : MT Newswires