Australian share market prepares for flat start

LITTLE movement is expected on the Australian share market at the start of the new trading week with no major influences from overseas.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index finished 0.72 per cent higher on Friday, while the broader All Ordinaries was up 0.66 per cent.

But the local futures market barely changed after Wall Street closed nearly flat following a wobbly day of trading.

Concerns about inflation and struggling technology and energy stocks were offset by a rally among retailers, led by Amazon.

The Dow Jones fell 11.15 points, or 0.05 per cent, while the S&P 500 gained 0.11 per cent and the Nasdaq was up 0.02 per cent.

“With that lead in from Wall Street, and consistent with futures trading in our market, it’s certainly pointing to a flat open,” AMP Capital’s chief economist Shane Oliver said.

After getting hammered as a result of the banking royal commission last week, Dr Oliver believes there might be some reprieve in sight for the financial sector. The big four banks recovered from early losses on Friday to join all other sectors in positive territory.

Only the Commonwealth Bank finished weaker, with Westpac, ANZ and NAB all closing higher.

“You could argue a lot of the bad news has been factored in for now.” The Reserve Bank board’s meeting tomorrow and a speech by RBA governor Philip Lowe are tipped to be the highlight of the week.

Dr Oliver suspects they will repeat the message they’ve consistently given, that the interest rate will go up but there’s no urgency for change right now.

“We don’t see a move on Tuesday,” he said.

CoreLogic’s latest house price data will also be watched closely, with economists predicting further falls across Australia’s capital cities.