Australian shares are trading slightly higher on Wednesday, snapping the four-session losing streak, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 staying above the 7,600 level, following the mixed cues from Wall Street overnight, with gains in gold miners, financial and energy stocks nearly offset by losses in iron ore miners.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 7.00 points or 0.09 percent to 7,619.50, after touching a high of 7,622.70 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 8.20 points or 0.10 percent to 7,870.50. Australian stocks ended sharply lower on Tuesday.
Among major miners, BHP Group and Mineral Resources are losing almost 1 percent each, while Fortescue Metals is edging down 0.3 percent and Rio Tinto is down more than 1 percent after reporting a drop in iron ore production and shipments in the first quarter of 2024.
Oil stocks are mostly higher. Santos, Beach energy and Woodside Energy are edging up 0.1 to 0.3 percent each, while Origin Energy is gaining almost 1 percent.
In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block and Zip are gaining more than 1 percent each, while WiseTech Global is edging up 0.3 percent. Appen is declining 1.5 percent and Xero is edging down 0.3 percent.
Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank and ANZ Banking are edging up 0.4 to 0.5 percent each, while Westpac is gaining almost 1 percent. National Australia Bank is flat.
Among gold miners, Resolute Mining and Gold Road Resources are gaining almost 2 percent each, while Northern Star Resources is edging up 0.3 percent and Evolution Mining is advancing more than 5 percent on an upbeat quarterly report. Newmont is edging down 0.5 percent.
In other news, shares in Droneshield are soaring 14 percent after the defence technology developer's Belgium and Luxembourg partner were awarded a NATO contract.
Shares in Lynas Rare Earths are up 3.3 percent after Australia's richest person Gina Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting acquired a sizable stake in the company.
Shares in Bank of Queensland tumbled 6 percent the bank reported cash earnings have fallen by a third in the six months to February but still came in above analysts' forecasts.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.641 on Wednesday.
On the Wall Street, stocks showed a lack of direction over the course of the trading day on Tuesday, as traders took a breather following the sell-off seen over the two previous sessions. The major averages bounced back and forth across the unchanged line before eventually closing narrowly mixed.
While the Dow rose 63.86 points or 0.2 percent to 37,798.97, snapping a six-session losing streak, the Nasdaq edged down 19.77 points or 0.1 percent to 15,865.25 and the S&P 500 slipped 10.41 points or 0.2 percent to 5,051.41.
Meanwhile, the major European markets also showed significant moves to the downside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index tumbled by 1.8 percent, the German DAX Index and the French CAC 40 Index both slumped by 1.4 percent.
Crude oil prices showed a lack of direction on Tuesday before easing slightly as Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen indicated the U.S. plans to impose new sanctions on Iran in response to the country's attack on Israel. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery dipped $0.05 or 0.1 percent to $85.36 a barrel.