Australia’s December quarter headline inflation at hotter than expected 7.8pc, the rate of price increases climbed 1.9pc on the prior quarter. Shares turn lower.
Microsoft’s profit topped analysts’ estimates in the second quarter, helped by strength in its cloud-services business even in a period when a weakening global economy ate into demand for personal-computer and corporate software. The shares rose about 4 per cent in late trading.
That compared with average analysts’ projections for $US2.30 a share in earnings and $US52.9 billion in revenue, according to a Bloomberg survey.In Microsoft’s closely watched Azure cloud-computing business, sales gained 38 per cent, compared with predictions for a 37 per cent increase, excluding the impact of currency fluctuations.
Still, Tuesday’s quarterly results underscored the software maker’s resilience, thanks to relatively steady demand for corporate cloud-computing services, even if gains are less robust. “The sentiment has gotten considerably worse than the last three months,” said Gil Luria, an analyst at D.A. Davidson. The quarter’s results may have been a “relief to the stock because actual expectations on the downside are even lower than that.”
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