Published on 09/16/2026 at 02:44 am EDT
(Updates to close)
* AXJO rises most since early September
* Miners snap 4-day losing streak
* Energy firms post largest single-day rise in more than a month
(Reuters) - Australian shares finished higher on Wednesday, led by energy and mining stocks as firmer commodity prices lifted resource firms, though losses in banks capped gains ahead of a closely watched Federal Reserve policy decision.
The Fed is expected to set the tone for central banks, including the Reserve Bank of Australia, with a bond market rout preempting global monetary tightening to tackle persistent inflation fueled by rising energy costs due to the Iran war.
"Energy prices are a key factor with Middle East conflict and potential for prolonged disruption supporting local energy stocks as these largely have operations insulated from the conflict," said Cameron Curko, CIO at Pitcher Partners.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index ended 0.3% higher at 8,696.50 points, in its steepest daily rise since early September.
Energy stocks climbed as much as 3% in their largest single-day gain in more than a month, with Woodside Energy and Santos jumping more than 2% each.
Miners rose 1.4%, snapping a four-day losing streak, after copper prices advanced. BHP Group was up 1.6% and Rio Tinto gained 1.1%.
"OpenAI's increased valuation supports saga of AI capital investment which is a net support for copper supporting the Australian majors such as BHP and Rio," Curko said.
Banks fell 0.4% with the "Big Four" in the red except Westpac Banking Corp, which was up 0.2%.
Gold stocks rose 1.5% and tech stocks climbed 0.3% while health shares ended flat.
On the corporate front, shares of Reliance Worldwide surged 4.5% after the plumbing supplies firm agreed to a roughly $2.9 billion buyout from global investment firm Brookfield.
Across the Tasman Sea, the New Zealand benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index rose 1% to 13,622.72 points.
(Reporting by Aamir Sheik Khalid in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)

Sumber : Reuters