Australian shares rose on Wednesday, led by gains in miners, while Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell struck a moderately dovish tone in his comments, suggesting that the central bank is more than likely to start its easing cycle later this year.
The S&P/ASX 200 index was up 0.2% at 7,731.700 points by 0043 GMT.
The benchmark fell 0.4% in the previous session.
On Tuesday, Powell said that the US is back on a “disinflationary path”, though the Fed needed to see more progress before changing policy.
Following Powell’s remarks, more than 61% of market participants expect the central bank to cut interest rates at its September meeting compared to 59.8% a day earlier, according to the CMEFedWatch tool.
Back in Sydney, mining stocks inched 0.6% up, aided by a rise in global iron ore prices.
Mining heavyweight BHP Group advanced 0.2% while iron ore miner Rio Tinto lost 0.2%.
Financials snapped a two-day losing streak to gain as much as 0.5%.
The ‘Big Four’ banks all rose between 0.3% and 0.7%.
Energy stocks gained 0.4% despite a fall in global oil prices, which fell as fears of Hurricane Beryl causing supply disruptions faded away.
Australian shares hit record high; RBA cautious on inflation
The sub-index is on its track for a seventh consecutive session of gains.
Woodside Energy gained 0.3%, while smaller peer Santos added 0.5%.
Healthcare shares traded flat, while IT stocks rose 0.3%, snapping a two-day losing streak as they tracked their US peers higher. Real estate stocks jumped 0.3% on the day.
Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index rose 0.2% in early trade.
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