By Oliver Gray
Investing.com - The S&P/ASX 200 added 72.70 points or 1.04% to 7,053.00 on Wednesday, snapping three sessions of consecutive losses as the resources-heavy index benefited from soaring commodity prices as the U.S. and U.K. moved to ban Russian Oil imports, while Gold, Nickel, Palladium and Iron ore surged.
All sectors finished higher, with Information Technology companies posting the largest gains, up 3.19% as Block Inc (ASX:SQ2) added 5.89%, Appen Ltd (ASX:APX) lifted 1.93%, Megaport Ltd (ASX:MP1) gained 3.3%, Novonix Ltd (ASX:NVX) added 8.28%, Brainchip Holdings Ltd (ASX:BRN) lifted 2.43%, Iress Ltd (ASX:IRE) gained 4.28% and Nextdc Ltd (ASX:NXT) climbed 4.28%.
Financials added 1.53%, as Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX:MQG) added 1.62%, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX:ANZ) lifted 1.09%, National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX:NAB) gained 1.72%, Westpac Banking Corp (ASX:WBC) lifted 1.34% and Commonwealth Bank Of Australia (ASX:CBA) added 1.9%.
Materials gained 0.53% for the day, with Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX:RIO) down 0.52%, BHP Billiton Ltd (ASX:BHP) easing 0.08%, Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX:FMG) up 0.91%, Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX:PLS) adding 5.97%, Arizona Lithium Ltd (ASX:AZL) up 6.3%, Lake Resources NL (ASX:LKE) surging 12.94%, Magnis Resources Ltd (ASX:MNS) adding 3.57%, Piedmont Lithium Ltd (ASX:PLL) rallying 7.45%, Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX:LYC) gaining 3.13%, while South32 Ltd (ASX:S32) finished down 1.6%.
Gold miners also gained with Newcrest Mining Ltd (ASX:NCM) rising 1.88%, Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX:NST) up 0.74%, Perseus Mining Ltd (ASX:PRU) adding 3.5% and Chalice Gold Mines Ltd (ASX:CHN) up 7.06%.
Local data further weighed on investors as Westpac consumer sentiment tumbled this month, posting the weakest result since September 2020 amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, flooding in the nation’s northeast, rising inflationary pressures and the prospect of higher interest rates.
On the bond markets, Australia 10-Year rates were at 2.308% while United States 10-Year yields were at 1.854%.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 finished higher, adding 0.34% to 11,785.