-- Australian shares fell on Wednesday's close amid optimism about a US-Iran ceasefire.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 23.70 points, or 0.26%, to close at 8,955.
The US and Iran are weighing further talks as mediation efforts continue to prevent the resumption of the conflict in the Middle East. Brent crude oil futures were steady at $95.02 per barrel. Spot gold climbed nearly 1% to $4,830.82 per ounce.
On Wall Street, the Nasdaq rose 1.6%, and the S&P 500 climbed 0.8% to reach record closing highs on Wednesday. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones slid 2%.
On the domestic front, Australia's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained at 4.3% in March, unchanged from the previous month, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed. The total number of employed people increased by 17,900, bringing the total to 14.8 million.
Australia's consumer inflation expectations rose by 0.7 percentage points in April to 5.9%, driven largely by a recent spike in oil prices, according to the Melbourne Institute Survey of Consumer Inflationary Expectations.
In company news, Ora Banda Mining (ASX:OBM) said gold production in the March quarter rose 21% to 38,766 ounces from the December 2025 quarter, with 38,637 ounces sold and fiscal 2026 year-to-date production totaling 101,200 ounces. Its shares rose 9% on market close.
Netwealth Group (ASX:NWL) reported funds under administration of about AU$125.79 billion at the close of the March quarter, up almost 21% from AU$104.08 billion at the end of the same quarter a year earlier. Its shares closed up 6%.
Lastly, Viva Energy Group (ASX:VEA) requested an immediate trading halt on the Australian Securities Exchange as it prepares to announce the impact of a significant fire at its Geelong Refinery. The facility, one of only two refineries still operating in Australia, has a processing capacity of 120,000 barrels of oil per day, and it reportedly accounts for 10% of Australia's fuel supply and 50% of the fuel used in Victoria.