Australian shares ticked higher on Wednesday as tech stocks tracked an overnight rally in their U.S. peers and miners advanced on robust commodity prices.
The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.27% to 6,995.9 in early trade, after closing flat on Tuesday.
Overnight, the S&P 500 closed at a record high and the Nasdaq composite index jumped, as investors remained unfazed by the halt in Johnson & Johnson's Covid-19 vaccine rollout and strong US inflation.
In Australia, technology stocks jumped 2.1%, led by a 3.2% rise in Nearmap Ltd and a 3.11% gain in NEXTDC Ltd.
Miners climbed 0.6% as iron ore and copper prices ticked up on strong demand.
Gold stocks rose 2.2% as bullion prices bounced off a more than one-week low on Tuesday after data showed strong U.S. inflation.
Resolute Mining Ltd jumped 9.57%, while Auteco Minerals Ltd gained 5%.
Energy stocks fell 0.6%, despite oil prices settling higher overnight on strong Chinese import data.
Beach Energy Ltd slipped 2.1%, while Oil Search Ltd lost 1.38%.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index climbed 0.27% ahead of a central bank meeting where it is expected to leave interest rates and its quantitative easing programme unchanged.
(Published 14 April 2021, 02:02 IST)
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