Australian Market Slightly Higher

(RTTNews) - Australian shares are trading slightly higher on Wednesday, extending the gains in the previous three sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 moving to the 8,950 level, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, with gains in mining and energy stocks amid spiking commodity prices, partially offset by weakness in some technology stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 8.40 points or 0.09 percent to 8,950.00, after touching a high of 8,978.50 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 2.40 points or 0.03 percent to 9,270.90. Australian stocks ended significantly higher on Tuesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group is advancing almost 2 percent and Fortescue is edging up 0.1 percent, while Mineral Resources and Rio Tinto are gaining more than 1 percent each.

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

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is declining almost 4 percent, Xero is slipping almost 1 percent and WiseTech Global is losing almost 2 percent, while Zip and Appen are edging up 0.2 to 0.5 percent each.

Among the big four banks, Westpac and Commonwealth Bank are edging up 0.1 to 0.4 percent each, while ANZ Banking and National Australia bank are edging down 0.1 to 0.4 percent each. Among gold miners, Evolution Mining and Genesis Minerals are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Resolute Mining is up more than 1 percent and Northern Star Resources is adding more than 2 percent. Newmont is flat.

In economic news, Australia's annual inflation accelerated to 3.8 percent in December 2025 from 3.4 percent in November, which was the lowest in three months, surpassing market forecasts of 3.6 percent and remaining above the RBA's 2 to3 percent target.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.701 on Wednesday.

On the Wall Street, stock indexes moved in starkly opposite directions during trading on Tuesday following the upward move seen in the previous session. While the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 saw further upside, the narrower Dow showed a notable pullback.

The Nasdaq jumped 215.74 points or 0.9 percent to a nearly three-month closing high of 23,817.10, and the S&P 500 climbed 28.37 points or 0.4 percent to a record closing high of 6,978.60. Meanwhile, the Dow ended the day off its worst levels of the session but still closed down 408.99 points or 0.8 percent at 49,003.41.

The major European markets also ended the day narrowly mixed. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index climbed by 0.6 percent and the French CAC 40 Index rose by 0.3 percent, although the German DAX Index bucked the uptrend and dipped by 0.2 percent.

Crude oil prices soared on Tuesday as U.S. naval forces have started building up near Iran, while Lebanese and Yemeni militias have pledged support to Iran, leading to a heightening of tensions. West Texas Intermediate crude for March delivery was up $1.61 or 2.66 percent at $62.24 per barrel.