SYDNEY, June 17, 2026, 09:04 AEST
- Scentre Group ended the session on Tuesday at A$3.86, off 0.77%. Shares moved in a range from A$3.77 to A$3.87.
- ASX 200 ended the session just above flat. The Reserve Bank of Australia kept rates steady at 4.35% but signaled another hike could still come.
- Scentre said visits to its 42 Westfield destinations hit 160 million through April 19, a 3.1% increase. The group kept its 2026 funds-from-operations goal unchanged.
Scentre Group goes into Wednesday’s ASX trade coming off a drop in its stapled securities on Tuesday. Investors are trying to balance steady mall traffic with an interest-rate outlook that remains tough.
Westfield owner finished at A$3.86, off 3 cents or 0.77%. Trading volume was around 11.7 million securities, according to StockAnalysis using S&P Global Market Intelligence. Shares settled below Monday’s A$3.89, but stayed above the session low at A$3.77.
Retail property stocks are trading near the rates story right now. Higher rates push up funding costs and force income stocks to compete with cash and bonds. A higher discount rate also raises the hurdle investors use for valuing future rent payments.
RBA kept its key rate at 4.35% on Tuesday, following three hikes earlier this year. Policymakers said inflation’s still too high, and another increase is possible. The ASX 200 closed 0.04% higher at around 8,917, bouncing back from earlier losses.
Westpac chief economist Luci Ellis said the central bank had “explicitly signalled that further hikes remain on the table.” NAB chief economist Sally Auld told ABC it was “too soon to expect any dovish shift” from the RBA, according to ABC News.
Scentre’s operating data is giving some backing to the bulls. CEO Elliott Rusanow said in April that visits to the company’s 42 Westfield malls hit “160 million, up 3.1%” from the start of the year through April 19. He said visits were up in every region. Scentre Group
Scentre Group said business partner sales grew 5.0% to A$7.0 billion over the three months to March 31. Specialty sales picked up 5.3%. Occupancy hit 99.8%, up 20 basis points from a year ago.
Scentre Group left its 2026 funds from operations target steady at a minimum of 23.73 cents per security, sticking to the same growth forecast of 4.0%. The company is also guiding for distributions up 4.0% at 18.43 cents per security.
Peers traded mixed, not all moving lower. Vicinity Centres ended Tuesday at A$2.60, up 2.36%. Charter Hall, a diversified property group, closed at A$23.63, adding 0.72%, according to delayed market data.
Scentre says higher traffic and rent gains could still fail to make up for weak consumer demand or another rate hike. The company has flagged that more volatility and pressure on consumers could weigh on results and may affect its 2026 outlook. The RBA’s latest comments keep downside risks in play.
