The Australian sharemarket extended gains for a fifth consecutive session on Wednesday, lifted by a perceived easing in global trade tensions, while local consumer price data boosted expectations of an interest rate cut by Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) policymakers.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 rose 55.6 points or 0.7% to 8,126.2, notching fresh 2-month highs, with seven of 11 sectors ending in positive territory.
Gains were led by consumer discretionary, technology, and healthcare stocks.
Wesfarmers added 1.6%, Aristocrat Leisure gained 1.9%, and JB Hi-Fi gained 0.7%.
Tech stocks also posted gains, with Computershare, WiseTech Global, and Wisetech Global trading 1.2%, 1.9%, and 1.1% higher respectively.
Healthcare firms CSL, Pro Medicus, and Cochlear contributed to the sector's strength, adding 2.3%, 2.2%, and 1.4%, respectively.
Utilities lagged the broader market. Origin Energy fell 1.4% after reporting a decline in LNG revenue for the quarter.
Mercury NZ lost 3.2% and AGL Energy dipped 1.2%.
In company news, Pexa Group surged 5.4% after announcing its U.K. subsidiary, Digital Completion UK Ltd, had received authorisation from the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to operate as an Authorised Payment Institution.
Champion Iron slipped 0.9% despite recording an 18% year-on-year increase in quarterly sales to 3.5 million dry metric tonnes. Production fell, however, to 3.2 million wet metric tonnes, down 13% from the prior quarter and 3% lower year-on-year.
Bond markets had mixed yields. The 10-year government bond yield fell 0.9% to 3.329%, while the 2-year yield was unchanged at 3.278%.
