Australian Market Notably Higher

(RTTNews) - Australian shares are trading notably higher on Wednesday, extending the gains in the previous three sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 moving above the 8,900 level, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, with gains across most sectors led by mining and technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 52.70 points or 0.60 percent to 8,902.80, after touching a high of 8,937.00 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 61.30 points or 0.68 percent to 9,030.10. Australian stocks ended notably higher on Tuesday.

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

Oil stocks are mostly higher. Woodside Energy and Santos are advancing more than 2 percent each, while Beach energy is gaining almost 1 percent. Origin Energy is edging down 0.4 percent.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is gaining almost 2 percent, Zip is adding more than 4 percent, Xero is up almost 2 percent, WiseTech Global is advancing more than 2 percent and Appen is surging more than 8 percent.

Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank is adding more than 1 percent and National Australia bank is edging up 0.5 percent, while Westpac and ANZ Banking are gaining almost 1 percent each.

Among gold miners, Evolution Mining is advancing almost 3 percent, Resolute Mining is rising almost 4 percent, Genesis Minerals is surging more than 4 percent, Newmont is adding almost 1 percent and Northern Star Resources is gaining more than 1 percent.

In economic news, Australia's annual inflation rate accelerated to 4.3 percent in September 2026 from 4.0 percent in August, above market expectations of 4.2 percent, marking the highest rate since March. The reading also moved further above the central bank's 2 to 3 percent target range.

The trimmed mean CPI rose to 3.6 percent on year from 3.5 percent, in line with forecasts, while the weighted median eased to 3.4 percent from 3.6 percent.

On a monthly basis, the CPI increased by 0.8 percent, exceeding expectations of a 0.7 percent rise and accelerating from a 0.4 percent gain in August to mark its largest increase in six months.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.704 on Wednesday.

On Wall Street, stocks showed another notable move to the upside during trading on Tuesday after starting the week off on an upbeat note. The tech-heavy Nasdaq led the way higher, bouncing further off the two-month closing low set last Friday.

The Nasdaq gave back some ground going into the end of the day but still jumped 308.43 points or 1.2 percent to 26,477.60. The S&P 500 also climbed 45.83 points or 0.6 percent to 7,722.60, while the narrower Dow posted a more modest gain, inching up 15.99 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 52,377.57. Meanwhile, the major European markets also ended the day mixed. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index slid by 0.8 percent, the French CAC 40 Index climbed by 0.5 percent and the German DAX Index advanced by 0.7 percent.

Crude oil prices slumped again on Tuesday on efforts by regional intermediaries in the gulf to defuse Middle East tensions. West Texas Intermediate crude for December delivery sank $1.73 or 1.70 percent at $100.03 per barrel.