The Australian sharemarket plunged after data showed inflation has unexpectedly jumped in the September quarter, dampening the chances of an interest rate cut at the Reserve Bank’s next meeting on Melbourne Cup Day.

Treading water in early trade, S&P/ASX 200 fell 59.80 points, or 0.7 per cent, to 8952.20 as of 12.11pm AEDT, led lower by financial stocks. The selldown came after the ASX lost 0.5 per cent on Tuesday. The Australian dollar rose 0.3 per cent to US66.01¢.

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that headline inflation – the broadest measure of prices in the economy – came in at 1.3 per cent in the three months to September, higher than the June quarter’s 0.7 per cent, taking the annual rate of price growth from 2.1 per cent to 3.2 per cent.

Meanwhile, trimmed

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