Australian Market Modestly Higher

(RTTNews) - Australian shares are trading modestly higher on Wednesday, reversing the losses in the previous session, with the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 moving above the 8,700 level, following the broadly positive cues from Wall Street overnight, with gains in gold miners and technology stocks partially offset by weakness in energy and financial stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is gaining 30.10 points or 0.35 percent to 8,712.90, after touching a high of 8,723.80 earlier. The broader All Ordinaries Index is up 32.60 points or 0.36 percent to 9,029.50. Australian stocks ended notably lower on Tuesday.

Among major miners, BHP Group and Rio Tinto are gaining almost 1 percent each, while Mineral Resources is losing more than 2 percent and Fortescue is edging down 0.4 percent.

Oil stocks are mostly lower. Santos is declining almost 2 percent, Woodside Energy is down more than 1 percent, Origin Energy is slipping almost 1 percent and Beach energy is losing more than 2 percent.

In the tech space, Afterpay owner Block is gaining almost 2 percent, Xero is adding almost 1 percent and Appen is advancing almost 3 percent, while Zip and WiseTech Global are edging up 0.3 to 0.5 percent each.

Among the big four banks, Westpac and ANZ Banking are losing more than 1 percent each, while National Australia bank and Commonwealth Bank are down almost 1 percent each. Among gold miners, Evolution Mining is gaining more than 2 percent, Resolute Mining is adding almost 2 percent, Northern Star Resources is edging up 0.4 percent, Newmont is advancing 4.5 percent and Genesis Minerals is up more than 1 percent.

In other news, shares in 4D Medical are soaring more than 14 percent after announcing another major contract win with UC San Diego Health, a pre-eminent health system in the US, to use its CT:VQ technology for clinical use in lung imaging.

Shares in Island Pharmaceuticals are skyrocketing more than 17 percent after the biotechnology company secured patent protection in the US for the use of one of its compounds Galidesivir in the treatment of filoviridae viruses.

Shares in Greatland Resources are surging almost 7 percent after the release of upbeat operational and financial results.

In economic news, Australia's annual inflation slowed to 3.4 percent in November 2025 from 3.8 percent in October, below market forecasts of 3.7 percent, and remaining above the RBA's 2 to 3 percent target. It marked the lowest inflation since August.

The seasonally adjusted number of total dwellings approved in Australia jumped 15.2 percent month-on-month to a near four-year high of 18,406 units in November 2025, reversing a downwardly revised 6.1 percent decline in the previous month, according to preliminary data. On an annual basis, dwelling approvals jumped 20.2 percent, swinging from a downwardly revised 1.1 percent fall in October.

In the currency market, the Aussie dollar is trading at $0.673 on Wednesday.

On the Wall Street, stocks saw further upside during trading on Tuesday after turning in a strong performance to kick off the first full trading week of the New Year. With the continued upward move, the Dow and the S&P 500 reached new record closing highs.

The major averages ended the day just off their highs of the session. The Dow jumped 484.90 points or 1.0 percent to 49,462.08, the Nasdaq climbed 151.35 points or 0.7 percent to 23,547.17 and the S&P 500 rose 42.77 points or 0.6 percent to 6,944.82.

The major European markets have also moved to the upside on the day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index jumped by 1.2 percent, the French CAC 40 Index rose by 0.3 percent and the German DAX Index crept up by 0.1 percent.

Crude oil prices tumbled on Tuesday as investors booked profits while analyzing the consequences of Saturday's swift U.S. military operation in Venezuela on global oil supply. West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery was down $1.11 or 1.90 percent at $57.21 per barrel.