By Oliver Gray
Investing.com - The S&P/ASX 200 added 17.4 points or 0.23% 7528.4 on Wednesday, following declines of 0.94% in the previous session, with market participants proving optimistic as corporate earnings results continue to roll in, while weaker iron ore prices tempered mining stocks.
On the coronavirus front, New South Wales added a record 633 cases of community transmission on Wednesday, with at least 62 of those infectious while in the community. Victoria reported 24 fresh cases this morning amid ongoing lockdown restrictions, while Queensland reported just 2 cases yesterday.
Among stocks, miners retreated amid weaker Iron ore prices, with Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX:RIO) falling 1.13% while BHP Billiton Ltd (ASX:BHP) dropped 5.42% after reporting full-year results. AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) vaccine maker CSL Ltd (ASX:CSL) dipped 1.01% as chief executive Paul Perreault flagged slimmer profit margins into next year. Financials also lifted with Commonwealth Bank Of Australia (ASX:CBA) adding 1.36% and Westpac Banking Corp (ASX:WBC) gaining 1.85%.
Investors will also be looking toward key employment data due on Thursday for a gauge on the effects of the ongoing lockdown restrictions across the country.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 moved 71.66 points or 0.57% higher to 12706.98.