Miners lead Australian stocks to record highs on signs of easing Iran tensions
Australian shares opened at a record high on Wednesday, led by miners, as hopes grew for an imminent end to the five-month-long Iran war.
The S&P/ASX 200 index rose as much as 0.7% to a record high of 9 213.0, and was up 0.6% at 12:16 GMT, extending Tuesday's 1.4% gain.
The local benchmark joined a global equities rally after comments by Qatari and US officials raised hopes for a diplomatic resolution to the Iran war, triggering a third straight day of decline in oil prices and pushing global bond yields lower.
Josh Gilbert, lead analyst for APAC & Middle East at eToro, also pointed to growing confidence in the resilience of Australian consumers as a driver of the improved sentiment.
"Resilient household spending data has given the market fresh belief that the Australian consumer is holding up better than feared, even with rates sitting at 4.35%."
But the "real test arrives next week", he cautioned, when Westpac is set to kick off the earnings season for the "big four" banks.
Financials were flat after rising 1.9% to a near four-month high in the previous session.
Miners gained for a fourth straight day, as copper prices strengthened on Tuesday, up 2%.
Heavyweights Rio Tinto and BHP, which have increasingly leaned on copper to drive revenues, rose 1.9% and 2.4%, respectively.
Gold producers added 1.4% as bullion gained.
Information technology stocks gained 1.6%, while healthcare stocks added 1%.
Energy stocks tumbled 1.8% tracking losses in oil prices, with Woodside Energy and Santos down 2.7% and 1.7%, respectively.
Endeavour Group reported a fall in preliminary annual earnings, while flagging a $262-million hit from its portfolio overhaul, sending its shares down as much as 5.5%.
In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index rose 0.6% to 13 986.03 points.
Data showed the country's jobless rate climbed to a decade-high in the June quarter, a sign of slack that could limit how high interest rates might rise this year.
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