FX.co ★ Aussie Shares Retreat from Record Milestone

On Friday, the S&P/ASX 200 index fell by 0.6%, closing at 8,967, dipping back below the historic 9,000 mark it touched for the first time the day before. This drop paused a two-day rally as investors awaited US Federal Reserve Chair Powell’s highly anticipated address at Jackson Hole, which is viewed as a crucial policy indicator likely to influence global market volatility. Initially, weaker employment data from the United States had spurred hopes for significant interest rate cuts; however, guarded comments from the Fed and ongoing inflationary pressures have since led to expectations of a more modest adjustment in September. From a corporate perspective, traders appeared to be securing gains after the index surpassed a key psychological threshold, with significant losses observed among major firms such as leading bank CBA (down 0.6%), biotech leader CSL (down 4.2%), Goodman (down 2.6%), and Fortescue (down 1.1%). Nonetheless, the index managed a 0.3% increase for the week, marking its third consecutive weekly rise, fueled in part by speculations of a dovish stance from the Reserve Bank of Australia on future policy actions.