By Oliver Gray
Investing.com - The S&P/ASX 200 was up 88.10 points or 1.26% to 7,094.10 on Wednesday, extending gains of 0.5% in the previous session as strong gains in the energy and materials sectors boosted sentiment, as investors look ahead to Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe's speech on the economic outlook later in the session.
ASX 200 Futures were pointing 0.55% higher.
Materials were ahead 2.29%, as Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX:RIO) gained 2.77%, BHP Billiton Ltd (ASX:BHP) lifted 2.29%, Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX:FMG) gained 3.65%, Champion Iron Ltd (ASX:CIA) added 4.73%, Arizona Lithium Ltd (ASX:AZL) lifted 3.13%, Lake Resources NL (ASX:LKE) was up 1.09%, Magnis Resources Ltd (ASX:MNS) added 3%, Avz Minerals Ltd (ASX:AVZ) gained 2.01% and Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX:LYC) gained 2.92%.
Energy stocks also added 2.25% collectively, with Woodside Petroleum Ltd (ASX:WPL) up 2.76%, Santos Ltd (ASX:STO) adding 2.51%, Beach Energy Ltd (ASX:BPT) up 2.04%.
Financials were higher, with Commonwealth Bank Of Australia (ASX:CBA) up 0.61%, National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX:NAB) lifting 0.36%, Westpac Banking Corp (ASX:WBC) adding 0.39%, Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX:MQG) adding 2.03% and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX:ANZ) up 0.11%.
Information Technology stocks were slightly ahead amid mixed performances, as Appen Ltd (ASX:APX) added 0.1%, Megaport Ltd (ASX:MP1) gained 1.61%, Link Administration Holdings Ltd (ASX:LNK) lifted 0.37%, Novonix Ltd (ASX:NVX) up 0.78% and Brainchip Holdings Ltd (ASX:BRN) gained 7.85%. Computershare Ltd. (ASX:CPU) lifted 4.4% following a rating upgrade from UBS analyst Scott Russell, who noted that the stock had “long suffered from a lack of earnings visibility.”
Meantime, Zip Co Ltd (ASX:Z1P) fell 2.42% and Block Inc (ASX:SQ2) retreated 3.46%.
On the bond markets, Australia 10-Year rates were at 1.796%, while United States 10-Year yields were at .
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 added 1.6% to 12,252.