Australian equities surged 235 points, or 2.7%, to 8,964 in Wednesday morning trade, extending the prior session’s rally and holding at a four‑month high. Gains were broad-based, with nearly all sectors advancing, led by consumer durables, financials, healthcare, and logistics.
Sentiment was buoyed by a sharp rise in U.S. stock futures after President Trump announced a two-week delay to a planned U.S. strike on Iran, allowing more time for negotiations. Several Iranian officials also reported that Iran’s supreme leader has signed off on the deal.
On the domestic front, Australian personal spending rose 0.3% month-on-month in February, in line with January’s pace and marking a second consecutive month of growth.
Among the early outperformers were Evolution Mining, up 7.7%, Northern Star Resources, up 5.6%, and Macquarie Group, up 4.9%. The four major banks climbed between 3.2% and 3.7%. In contrast, fuel refiners and marketers lagged, with Ampol down 4.0% and Viva Energy falling 7.4%.
