SYDNEY, March 18, 2026, 09:43 AEDT
National Australia Bank Ltd shares rose on Tuesday after Australia’s central bank lifted interest rates for a second straight month, a move investors often see as supportive of bank earnings. LSEG data carried on Reuters showed NAB was quoted 0.85% higher at A$47.46 in delayed trade. 1
The move matters because NAB has been hovering near record levels since February, when a stronger first-quarter update pushed the stock to A$47.96. The bank posted A$2.02 billion in cash earnings, its preferred measure of underlying profit, for the quarter ended Dec. 31, and its net interest margin — the spread between what it earns on loans and pays on deposits — was 1.80%, as it fought Commonwealth Bank and Westpac for customers. 2
The Reserve Bank of Australia raised the cash rate by 25 basis points, or a quarter of a percentage point, to 4.10% in a 5-4 vote. It pointed to stubborn inflation, with core inflation at 3.4%, and fresh oil-price pressure from the Middle East as GDP grew 2.6% in the December quarter; Commonwealth Bank economist Belinda Allen said the “domestic data flow alone justified a rate hike today.” 3
NAB moved quickly. The bank said it would lift variable home-loan rates by 0.25 percentage point from March 27, and personal banking executive Ana Marinkovic said another increase would be “challenging for many Australians.” 4
NAB’s economists did not flinch. In a note published after the decision, chief economist Sally Auld said there was a “material risk” inflation would stay above target for longer, and the bank kept its call for another rate increase in May. 5
Peers were pulled higher too. Reuters stock pages showed Westpac up 1.39% in delayed trade on Tuesday, and three of the big four lenders — NAB, Westpac and Commonwealth Bank — had tipped a March RBA increase last week. 6
That helps explain why lenders have held their ground while investors watch oil and central banks. Global stock markets rose again on Tuesday, but Brent still settled at $103.42 a barrel and investors were rethinking rate-cut bets as the Middle East war kept inflation worries alive. 7
Still, the trade is not clean. The RBA’s split vote looked like a preview of the harder calls facing other central banks as the Middle East war drives an oil shock through markets, and that kind of backdrop can hurt risk appetite and growth even if it keeps rates higher for longer. 8
