The S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.5% to around 9,000 in early Wednesday trade, extending its advance into a third straight session after a positive lead from Wall Street. The benchmark has now added about 0.2% in each of the previous two sessions, underpinned by a steady stream of earnings reports from some of Australia’s largest companies.
Among financials, top lender National Australia Bank gained nearly 4% after posting a solid increase in first-quarter cash earnings, supported by stronger lending activity and higher deposit volumes.
Local technology shares also moved higher, mirroring strength in US tech stocks. Technology One jumped 8.4%, while Wisetech Global and Xero each advanced around 1.5%.
Mining names were mixed: Rio Tinto added 0.8%, whereas BHP Group slipped 1.7%. Gold miners mostly dragged on the index as bullion prices eased, with Evolution Mining down 2.3% and Northern Star off 1.5%.
