Australian shares edge higher as commodity stocks surge

Australian shares inched higher on Wednesday after a two-session slide, as gains in commodity stocks after China's announcement of a stimulus package outweighed losses in financials, while investors awaited August inflation data due later in the day.

The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.1 per cent to 8,148.80 by 0038 GMT, after closing 0.1 per cent lower on Tuesday. The Australian dollar peaked at $0.6907 in early Asian trade, its highest since February 2023.

Investors were waiting for the August consumer price index (CPI) report to further gauge the Reserve Bank of Australia's rate outlook.

The central bank kept rates steady on Tuesday and said policy would have to be sufficiently restrictive to ensure inflation returned to target.

On Tuesday, China's central bank unveiled its biggest stimulus since the pandemic to pull the economy out of its deflationary funk and back towards the government's growth target.

In Sydney, mining stocks surged 2.4 per cent to a two-month high, after iron ore prices posted their biggest daily gain in more than a year on Tuesday. Rio Tinto and BHP gained 1.9 per cent, and 2.5 per cent, respectively.

Gold stocks jumped as much as 2.6 per cent to their highest since November 2020, after bullion prices rose 1 per cent overnight and hit a record high.

Energy stocks rose as much as 0.9 per cent after oil prices jumped nearly 2 per cent overnight on China stimulus.

Financials fell 1.3 per cent, with the "Big Four" banks down between 1 per cent and 2.8 per cent.

Among individual stocks, Premier Investments dropped nearly 8.4 per cent and was the top loser on the benchmark index, after the apparel retailer reported a 5 per cent fall in annual profit.

Overnight, the US Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.20 per cent. The S&P 500 gained 0.25 per cent, while the Nasdaq rose 0.56 per cent.

In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index was largely unchanged at 12,308.89.

Shares of Fonterra rose 6.9 per cent to their highest since July 2021. The dairy exporter posted a 25 per cent drop in annual profit, but declared a special dividend.