Market Close 11 July 19: Local shares rose for a second day on Thursday, encouraged by talk of a US rate cut

The ASX 200 ended higher by 26pts or almost 0.4% on Thursday, following US stocks higher after the US Federal Reserve Chairman, Jay Powell, pointed to the prospect of a cut in official US interest rates later this month. Every ASX sector rose – gold and energy names gained after the underlying commodities did likewise in the last day. The Aussie dollar firmed, helped by a US dollar retreat.

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