By Oliver Gray
Investing.com - The S&P/ASX 200 added 44.3 points or 0.6% to 7,173.1 after the first hour of Wednesday’s trade, recouping losses of 0.3% in the previous session as the Materials sector outperformed while Information Technology dragged.
ASX 200 Futures were pointing 0.5% higher.
Among stocks, heavyweight mining companies were the most improved overall, with Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX:RIO) up 1.4%, Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (ASX:FMG) gaining 0.4%, Champion Iron Ltd (ASX:CIA) up 0.1%, while BHP Billiton Ltd (ASX:BHP) fell 9.4% as the company traded ex-dividend.
Financials were up 1.2% as Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX:ANZ) added 0.6%, National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX:NAB) lifted 1.8%, Westpac Banking Corp (ASX:WBC) gained 1.2% and Commonwealth Bank Of Australia (ASX:CBA) added 1.5%.
Meantime, Information Technology shed 2.5% collectively as Block Inc (ASX:SQ2) fell 5.9%, Appen Ltd (ASX:APX) dropped 3.6%, Megaport Ltd (ASX:MP1) fell 3.3%, Novonix Ltd (ASX:NVX) lost 1.5% and Altium Ltd (ASX:ALU) dipped 2.8%.
On the bond markets, Australia 10-Year rates were at 3.222% while United States 10-Year yields were at 2.763%.
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 added 0.2% to 11,272.