The Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) began its trading week strong after stocks based in the United States finished last week on the red, with investors continuing to bet that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) would start cutting interest rates by September. 

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ASX 200's Early Winners, Losers

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that the ASX 200 index jumped by 0.84% at 7987.8 points Monday morning, local time (July 29), with all sectors reporting gains. 

As of writing, NAB was leading the major banks with a 1.4% gain and Rio Tinto in the iron ore miners sector at 1.3%. Payment platform Zip (up 5.8%) and building products firm James Hardie (up 3.4%) were also early winners. 

However, there were also some early losers in the share market, such as New Zealand-based construction materials company Fletcher Building (down 3.5%) after it told the market that its fiscal 2025 earnings would take a hit due to supply chain issues. 

Health insurer NIB also slipped down 4.7% after announcing that its CEO Mark Fitzgibbon would be retiring in September, while Adore Beauty also had a poor start (down 2.7%) after announcing the appointment of former General Pants Co. and Collette CEO Sacha Laing as its new boss effective October. 

Investors Focusing on RBA's Reaction to Quarterly Inflation Data

Meanwhile, investors are looking forward to the quarterly inflation data this week, which would influence the RBA's action on whether to raise, lower, or maintain interest rates. 

The ABC added that the ASX 200 maintained its early gains as it headed into its afternoon trading session. 

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