How the ASX 200 moved following the RBA’s first cash rate decision of 2021

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) made its first cash rate announcement for 2021 this afternoon.

And the RBA opted to — drum roll please — keep rates on hold at the current record low 0.1%.

Atop of maintaining the current cash rate and the parameters of its Term Funding Facility, RBA Governor, Philip Lowe, also announced the central bank will up its quantitative easing (QE) program.

The RBA will purchase another $100 billion of bonds issued by both the state, territory, and federal governments once the current bond purchases run their course in mid-April.

Lowe wrote that the RBA will continue buying $5 billion of government bonds per week. This is the same rate as under the current program.

COVID-19 vaccine tailwinds

Lowe…