The Australian share market ended flat today as investors digested a shock interest rate hike from the Reserve Bank and awaited key US elections and the start of the two day Federal Reserve meeting. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) gained 2.4pts or 0.1pct to 4773.3.

The Reserve Bank of Australia today lifted the official cash rate by 25 basis points to 4.75pct in a pre-emptive move to stave off inflation pressures.

The Australian dollar gained a cent on the decision and was buying US99.75c at 4pm AEDT.

The Commonwealth Bank (CBA) has become the first lender to pass on the RBA's rate and will increase its standard variable home loan rate by 0.45pct from Friday. Shares in the CBA added 1.8pct to $50.19. By close of trade Westpac (WBC) had not raised rates but had indicated they were under review. WBC shares added 1.1pct to $23.31. The NAB (NAB) closed slightly lower at $25.88 while the ANZ (ANZ) added 0.5pct to $25.03. Macquarie Group (MQG) finished down 0.7pct to $36.15.

Mining stocks finished lower despite firmer metals trade in London overnight. BHP Billiton (BHP) lost 3c to $42.27 while Rio Tinto (RIO) was weaker by 0.3pct to $82.71. Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) added 1.7pct to close at $6.42.

Retail stocks were mixed. Shares in Harvey Norman (HVN) shed 2.4pct to $3.24 as some analysts indicated the rate hike could lead to a tough Christmas for some consumers. Shares in Myer Limited (MYR) added 0.5pct to $3.89 while Kathmandu (KMD) was stronger by 1.1pct to $1.34.

Westfield Group (WDC) was placed in a trading halt, last at $12.81. WDC requested the trading halt after speculation in the media about potential transactions involving the company.

Allied Brands (ABQ) was placed in administration, after the company lost its licence to operate 92 ice-cream stores in Australia. ABQ last traded at 1.7c.

Sydney Airport operator MAP Group (MAP) closed steady at $3.07 after announcing traffic growth of 7pct across the board.

Leighton Holdings (LEI) fell 7pct to $33.75 on a profit warning.

The Australian dollar ended the day's trade at US99.79c, £0.6215 and €71.63c.

On the market overall, a total of 1.71 billion shares were traded, worth $3.4 billion. 491 were up, 561 were down and 348 were unchanged.

At 4.30pm AEDT on the ASX24, the futures market was up 1pt to 4701.

Ahead tonight, mid-term elections are held in the US and the Federal Reserve kick starts its two day policy meeting.