Australian shares are trading notably higher on Wednesday, extending the gains in the previous two sessions, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 moving above the 7,700 level, following the broadly positive cues from global markets overnight, with gains in most sectors led by technology stocks. Iron ore miners were the only weak spot.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 39.10 points or 0.51 percent to 7,722.60, after touching a high of 7,723.90 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 39.80 points or 0.50 percent to 7,977.70. Australian stocks ended notably higher on Tuesday.
Among major miners, BHP Group and Mineral Resources are declining almost 2 percent each, while Fortescue Metals is down more than 1 percent and Rio Tinto is losing more than 2 percent.
Oil stocks are mostly higher. Santos is gaining more than 1 percent, Woodside Energy is adding almost 1 percent and Origin Energy is edging up 0.3 percent, while Beach energy is edging down 0.3 percent.
In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block and Appen are advancing more than 4 percent each, while Xero is adding more than 1 percent and WiseTech Global is gaining almost 1 percent. Zip is flat.
Among the big four banks, Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank, ANZ Banking and Westpac are gaining almost 1 percent each.
Among gold miners, Newmont is gaining almost 2 percent and Gold Road Resources is up almost 1 percent, while Evolution Mining and Northern Star Resources are adding more than 1 percent each. Resolute Mining is losing more than 2 percent.
In other news, shares in Cleanaway Waste Management plunged almost 12 percent after it denied speculation about being bought out by Seven Group. Bloomberg reported Seven had been seeking financing for a takeover.
In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.649 on Wednesday.
On the Wall Street, stocks ended on a firm note on Tuesday, extending gains from previous session, with technology shares once again outperforming others, amid optimism about earnings. A batch of encouraging earnings updates, and slightly easing concerns about the outlook for interest rates helped underpin sentiment.
The major averages all ended notably higher. The Dow settled with a gain of 263.71 points or 0.69 percent at 38,503.69. The S&P 500 climbed 59.95 points or 1.2 percent to 5,070.55, while the Nasdaq gained 245.33 points or 1.59 percent to settle at 15,696.64.
The major European markets also closed higher on the day. While the German DAX Index surged 1.55 percent, France's CAC 40 gained 0.81 percent, and the U.K.'s FTSE 100 ended higher by 0.26 percent.
Crude oil prices moved higher on Tuesday after data showed a slowdown in U.S. manufacturing activity in April, raising hopes the Federal Reserve will start cutting interest rates soon. West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures for June rose $1.46 or 1.78 percent at $83.36 a barrel.
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