Australia's share market is creeping higher, despite slumping performances from retail and staples stocks, as a looming interest rate hike collides with soft September-quarter spending.
The S&P/ASX200 rose 26.5 points by midday, up 0.3 per cent, to 8873.6, as the broader All Ordinaries improved by 23.5 points, or 0.26 per cent, to 8994.9.
Seven of 11 local sectors were trading higher, but more than two per cent dips in both consumer cyclicals and staples capped the indices' upside.
The drop in retail stocks came after weak trading updates from Bunnings owner Wesfarmers, JB Hi-Fi and Super Retail Group, with current quarter spending also soft ahead of November and Christmas sales.
The major banks resumed their uptrend, helping lift the financials sector 1.1 per cent to its highest level since mid-August, with CommBank shares trading at $164.86 and now having clawed back roughly half of their post-August earnings sell-off.
Energy stocks were up 0.9 per cent by lunchtime, as oil prices reversed an early slump that followed reports US Vice President JD Vance was seeking peace talks with Iranian hardliners.
"The headline risk is likely to continue, especially as market participants nervously approach mid-term elections and an unofficial deadline to secure an agreement before the US potentially escalates the war again," Capital.com senior market analyst Kyle Rodda said.
"There'll be little reprieve for the markets in the next 24 hours, with event risk still heightened as market participants await more central bank decisions, company earnings, and critical US data."
Basic materials were heavy, the segment down 0.5 per cent as copper prices eased, impacting mega miners BHP and Rio Tinto.
Gold stocks were mixed, the sub-sector advancing 0.6 per cent as the yellow metal hovered near $US4037 ($A5725) an ounce.
Gold and other precious metals retreated overnight after the US Federal Reserve kept its funding rate steady but left markets expecting another hike by year-end.
Local real estate trusts jumped 1.2 per cent, despite Thursday's local inflation data narrowing the odds the Reserve Bank will lift the official cash rate to 4.85 on Melbourne Cup Day, its highest level since 2008.
In company news, Mesoblast shares rocketed almost 14 per cent to the top of the ASX200 leaderboard after the biotech's quarterly report boasted surging revenues and progress with regulators.
Liontown was at the other end of the table, losing six per cent after its first-quarter cash receipts fell alongside production as it focused on its underground expansion at Kathleen Valley.
The Australian dollar is buying 70.51 US cents, up from 70.32 US cents on Wednesday at 5pm.
