Sydney, February 25, 2026, 18:48 AEDT — Market closed.
- Xero closed up 5.46% at A$75.76 after hitting a 52-week low on Tuesday.
- Tech stocks led the S&P/ASX 200 to a record close despite a hotter inflation read.
- Attention shifts to the rate outlook ahead of the Reserve Bank’s March decision.
Xero Limited shares rose 5.5% on Wednesday to A$75.76, rebounding after the stock set a 52-week low a day earlier. The cloud accounting software maker traded between A$72.82 and A$76.03, with Morningstar data showing it remains about 61% below its 12-month high. (Intelligent Investor)
The move tracked a broad rally in Australian equities that pushed the S&P/ASX 200 to a record close, with beaten-down tech names leading. MarketIndex put the benchmark’s gain at 1.18% on the day, while the information technology sector climbed about 5.9%. (Market Index)
Investors had fresh reason to worry about rates, but they bought stocks anyway. “The market is focused on earnings today, not CPI,” said Hayden Beamish, a portfolio manager at Endeavor Asset Management, in a Reuters report on the session. (Indo Premier)
Australia’s consumer prices rose 3.8% in the year to January, unchanged from December, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday. “The 3.8 per cent annual CPI inflation to January was unchanged from December,” Michelle Marquardt, ABS head of prices statistics, said in the release. (Australian Bureau of Statistics)
A separate Reuters report said monthly CPI rose 0.4% in January, beating the median forecast, while trimmed mean inflation — a closely watched core gauge — rose to 3.4% year-on-year. “The Reserve Bank’s preferred trimmed mean measure was still too high for its liking,” said Stephen Smith, a partner at Deloitte Access Economics. (Reuters)
For Xero, the bounce follows a close at A$71.84 on Tuesday — its 52-week low — and comes after a sharp slide from last year’s highs. Wednesday’s gain puts it back above the worst levels of the sell-off, but not by much.
Other tech names also attracted buyers, including WiseTech Global, Technology One and NextDC, as investors rotated back into the sector after a rough run.
But the turnaround can vanish fast in growth stocks. If rate-hike bets harden again, or if the market shifts back from “earnings” to “valuation”, software shares like Xero can give up gains just as quickly as they make them.
Into the next session, traders will watch whether the tech rebound holds, and whether bond yields and the Australian dollar keep reacting to the inflation surprise. Liquidity has been thin in parts of the market on down days recently, and that can magnify both bounces and sell-offs.
The Reserve Bank’s next policy decision is due on March 17, and Governor Michele Bullock is scheduled to speak on March 3, according to the central bank’s calendar. Xero’s next scheduled milestone is its annual report on May 14. (Reserve Bank of Australia)
