Australian Market Sharply Higher

(RTTNews) - Australian shares are trading sharply higher on Wednesday, extending the gains in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 moving well above the 8,500 level, despite the broadly negative cues from Wall Street overnight, with gains across most sectors led by mining and technology stocks. Energy stocks were the only weak spot.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 144.50 points or 1.72 percent to 8,523.90, after touching a high of 8,530.20 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 155.00 points or 1.81 percent to 8,726.30. Australian stocks ended modestly higher on Tuesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group is gaining almost 3 percent, Rio Tinto is adding more than 1 percent, Fortescue is up almost 1 percent and Mineral Resources is advancing almost 4 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly lower. Santos is losing more than 3 percent, Woodside Energy is declining almost 4 percent and Beach energy is slipping more than 4 percent, while Origin Energy is gaining almost 1 percent.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is gaining almost 1 percent, Xero is edging up 0.3 percent, WiseTech Global is advancing more than 2 percent, Zip is surging almost 6 percent and Appen is adding almost 2 percent.

Among the big four banks, ANZ Banking is gaining almost 2 percent and Westpac is adding more than 2 percent, while Commonwealth Bank and National Australia bank are advancing more than 1 percent each. Among gold miners, Evolution Mining and Newmont are jumping more than 7 percent each, while Resolute Mining is advancing almost 5 percent, Northern Star Resources is surging more than 6 percent and Genesis Minerals is soaring almost 10 percent.

In economic news, Australia's annual inflation edged down to 3.7 percent in February 2026, compared with market forecasts of 3.8 percent, which were also in line with the prior two months. However, the latest result remained outside the central bank's 2 to 3 percent target.

The trimmed mean CPI inched lower to 3.3 percent on year, below both the prior figure and consensus of 3.4 percent. Monthly, the CPI was flat, reversing a 0.4 percent gain in January.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.700 on Wednesday.

On the Wall Street, stocks turned in a relatively lackluster performance during trading on Tuesday following the recovery rally seen during the previous session. The major averages fluctuated over the course of the session before eventually closing in negative territory.

The Nasdaq slid 184.87 points or 0.8 percent to 21,761.89, the S&P 500 fell 24.63 points or 0.4 percent to 6,556.37 and the Dow dipped 84.41 points or 0.2 percent to 46,124.06. Meanwhile, the major European markets turned in a mixed performance on the day. While the German DAX Index edged down by 0.1 percent, the French CAC 40 Index rose by 0.2 percent and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index climbed by 0.7 percent.

Crude oil prices surged on Tuesday as market participants found U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement of U.S.-Iran peace talks to be unfounded. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery was up $3.90 or 4.43 percent at $92.03 per barrel.