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A sour mood on the markets on Wednesday is set to continue as the ABS reveals that Australian inflation has risen to 4%.

The market immediately plunged, recording losses of over -1%. Consensus forecasts had predicted an increase of 0.2% to 3.8%, but analysts were proven to be overly optimistic.

The news follows inflation data from Canada, where inflation also exceeded expectations after the Bank of Canada cut rates earlier this month.

Morgan Stanley has been warning clients of a significant risk of a rate hike in August.

And, all sectors are heading into the red, with Discretionary and Materials falling the most, down 1.8%. IT is the only sector in the green, but given the market sentiment, it is likely to follow the others into the red.

Company News

Seven West Media (ASX:SWM) has announced the appointment of Craig Haskins as its new Chief Financial Officer. The market responded positively to the news, with shares rising 1.5%.

This comes after Seven announced on Tuesday plans to cut up to 150 jobs as the company grapples with a sluggish advertising market and structural challenges impacting its profit margins.

SWM has been trading at 17.5 cents.

Community task platform provider, Airtasker (ASX:ART) has announced the execution of an advertising deal with Ooh!Media (ASX:OML).

Ooh!Media will provide Airtasker with $6 million worth of outdoor advertising inventory in exchange for a 2-year $5 million convertible note with a 5.8% coupon rate.

The partnership allows Airtasker access to Ooh!Media’s extensive network of over 35,000 sites across Australia, including billboards, street furniture, airports, office towers, and retail centres.

ART has been trading at 24.5 cents.

Established gold explorer, De Grey Mining (ASX:DEG) has announced fresh gold discoveries near its highly anticipated Hemi Deposit, supporting the company’s concept of an underground mine.

However, shares went down on a red down for the materials sector.

Exploration efforts continue at Hemi and other regional targets, with diamond drill rigs currently active at the Aquila site.

DEG has been trading at $1.07.

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