Yahoo Finance ASX to lift as RBA to reveal rate increase insights
ASX: The local market is expected to lift at the open despite a choppy session in the US overnight.
This comes after the Australian share market closed flat after an early rally - to a fresh two-month high - faded throughout the day.
Wall Street: US stocks were mixed on Thursday after an uneventful trading session as investors looked ahead to July's jobs report and barrelled through more earnings.
RBA: As Australia looks down the barrel of an inflation rate close to 8 per cent this year, borrowers and investors are wondering how much further official interest rates will rise.
Some insights into the central bank's rate thinking will be revealed in a quarterly Statement on Monetary Policy due today.
Rate hike: Mortgage holders will begin feeling the effect of the Reserve Bank's rate hike, with the Big Four banks passing the rise on to customers.
ANZ, Commonwealth Bank, Westpac and NAB matched Tuesday's move by the RBA, lifting variable rates by 50 basis points from next week.
Exports: Australia's trade surplus hit a record $17.7 billion in June, aided by strong shipments of coal, iron ore and grain.
The monthly surplus rose from May's $15 billion, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported on Thursday, far outpacing expectations of a fall to $14 billion.
Spending warning: The Federal Government is being warned to rein in its spending on industry assistance as Australia's economy bounces back from the COVID-19 pandemic.
At least $16 billion was spent on aiding various industries in 2020/21, a $4 billion increase on the previous year, the Productivity Commission has found.
Killer proteins: A group of bacteria-killing proteins inside the body could help develop more effective drugs, with the potential to eliminate diseases including meningitis, pneumonia and sepsis, a new study found.
A specific group of immune peptide proteins have been shown to kill harmful bacteria by busting them open like an "axe chopping open a watermelon", scientists at the Australian National University said.
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