ASX 200 rebounds, pauses on RBA cut

The ASX 200 (INDEXASX:XJO) rebounded today, but then investors seemed unconvinced by the RBA interest rate cut.

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The ASX 200 (INDEXASX: XJO) went up 0.7% today to 6,436, however at one point it was up to 6,524 just after midday, so it fell back from the high.

Global investors liked that central banks were committing to supporting financial markets, however when the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) did cut Australia's interest rate by 0.25% to 0.5% it didn't seem to give confidence further.

Banks fall

The major big four ASX banks all dropped backwards by the end of trading. The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price fell 1.7%, the Westpac Banking Group (ASX: WBC) share price dropped 1.1%, the National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) share price fell 1.4% and the share price of Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ) declined 1.4%.

All four banks passed on the rate cut in full, which is likely to mean that their net interest margins (NIMs) will fall.

Some investors may have been hoping for a 0.5% cut and others may have hoped for no cut.

Growth shares rebound

Plenty of ASX shares saw a recovery today. Not back up to their all-time highs, but at least gaining back some of the ground lost.

The Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) share price increased by 7.2%.

The Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT) share price rose by 6.2%.   

The CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) share price went up 2.25%.

The Cochlear Limited (ASX: COH) share price rose by over 5%.

Interest earner pain

Some of the shares that generate material revenue from bank interest saw declines today.

For example, the Netwealth Group Ltd (ASX: NWL) share price fell 6.1% and the Computershare Limited (ASX: CPU) share price declined by over 2%.

However, companies that have large debt balances are benefiting. The share price of Goodman Group (ASX: GMG) rose 3.75% and the Scentre Group (ASX: SCG) share price went up 1.5%.

Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia's parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO, Cochlear Ltd., CSL Ltd., and Netwealth. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of National Australia Bank Limited and Xero. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Cochlear Ltd. and Scentre Group. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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