Australian shares rise on miners, tech boost; US Federal meeting outcome eyed

Australian shares gained on Wednesday as miners rallied for a third straight session and tech stocks tracked their Wall Street peers higher, with investors hoping that the US Federal Reserve will stick to its supportive policy stance.

The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.7 per cent to 5,933.3 by 0030 GMT. It climbed as much as 0.9 per cent earlier in the session.

The tech index added as much as 2.5 per cent to be the top percentage gainer after its US counterpart ended more than one per cent higher overnight, while export-reliant miners were the biggest boost to the benchmark index.

Eyes are on the outcome from the Fed's two-day policy meeting later in the day, the first since Chair Jerome Powell announced a more accommodative stance on inflation.

Meanwhile, Australia's second-most populous state Victoria reported 42 new Covid-19 cases and eight deaths in the last 24 hours, a day after it recorded zero deaths for the first time in more than two months.

Among other shares and sectors, buy now, pay later firm Afterpay and software company Xero were up about two per cent.

Miners jumped after upbeat Chinese data on Tuesday, with global giants BHP Group and Rio Tinto gaining 1.6 per cent and two per cent, respectively.

QBE Insurance Group said a London court largely ruled in its favour in a case examining the reading of policy wordings by eight insurers regarding business interruptions caused by the pandemic. Its shares shed 0.5 per cent.

In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index rose 0.5 per cent to 11,825.41, with blue-chip firms being among the top gainers.

Electricity generator Meridian Energy advanced about one per cent after it reported a 7.5 per cent rise in its local retail sales volume in August.

A Reuters poll showed New Zealand is likely to record its sharpest quarterly contraction in the June quarter, officially entering a recession.