By Oliver Gray
Investing.com - The S&P/ASX 200 added 25.00 points or 0.34% to 7,479.00 during Wednesday’s deals, partially recovering from losses of 0.4% in the previous session as easing lock-down restrictions in China helped to buoy Crude Oil prices, while investors remained cautious of growth stocks after overnight data showed U.S. inflation accelerating to fresh 41-year highs.
Among stocks, Energy companies gained 1% during the session, with Santos Ltd (ASX:STO) adding 1.3%, Beach Energy Ltd (ASX:BPT) gaining 1% and Viva Energy Group Ltd (ASX:VEA) up 2%.
Materials moved 0.6% higher collectively, with Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX:RIO) up 2%, Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX:FMG) adding 0.8%, BHP Billiton Ltd (ASX:BHP) lifting 0.1% Avz Minerals Ltd (ASX:AVZ) adding 11.7% Lake Resources NL (ASX:LKE) gaining 9.8%, Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX:LTR) lifting 4.1% and Piedmont Lithium Ltd (ASX:PLL) up 4.6%.
Financials finished 0.2% higher as Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX:MQG) dipped 0.1%, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX:ANZ) lifted 0.3%, National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX:NAB) gained 0.4%, Westpac Banking Corp (ASX:WBC) added 0.6% and Commonwealth Bank Of Australia (ASX:CBA) lost 0.2%.
On the bond markets, Australia 10-Year yields were at fresh 7-year highs of 3.074% while United States 10-Year rates were at 37-month highs of 2.767%.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 fell 0.1% to 11,875.