Australian shares advanced on Wednesday, mirroring gains on Wall Street despite escalating tensions in the Middle East.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index gained 0.34%, or 29.70 points, to close at 8,823.
Overnight, the Nasdaq Composite index on Wall Street rose over 1.3%, while the S&P 500 rose 0.9% and Dow Jones climbed 0.7%.
Brent crude oil futures rose over 1% to trade around $92 per barrel as US President Donald Trump threatened further military strikes on Iran.
Gold prices rose over 1% to $4,128.42 per ounce. Copper jumped to its highest price in over a month as Comex copper for September rose over 3% to $6.55 per pound.
On the domestic front, the six-month annualised growth rate in the Westpac-Melbourne Institute Leading Index dropped to negative 0.36% in June from negative 0.25% in May, marking the sixth consecutive below-trend read and the weakest pace since late 2023 when quarterly GDP growth stalled flat, according to a report by Westpac.
Inflation emerged as the single most pressing concern for Australians across the three waves of a new survey by the Reserve Bank of Australia, with around two-thirds of respondents citing it as one of their top three economic concerns.
In company news, Paladin Energy (ASX:PDN) said production from the Langer Heinrich mine in Namibia is expected to range between 5.1 million pounds and 5.6 million pounds of triuranium octoxide in fiscal year 2027.
Lynas Rare Earths (ASX:LYC) reported fiscal fourth-quarter gross sales revenue of AU$288.9 million, up 70% from a year earlier and the highest quarterly revenue achieved since the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022.
Lastly, WiseTech Global (ASX:WTC) agreed to acquire California-based FRDM.ai, an artificial intelligence (AI)-driven supply chain risk and compliance intelligence platform, in a transaction valued at an upfront $10 million in cash and shares, with potential all-cash earn-outs of up to $14.3 million.