Traders ignored rising oil prices and interest rates risk as the Australian sharemarket closed higher on Wednesday.
The benchmark ASX 200 closed up 14.4 points or 0.16 per cent to 8831.30, thanks to a late afternoon rally on a seasawing day of trade.
Meanwhile, the broader All Ordinaries added 12.40 points or 0.14 per cent to 8956.60.
The Australian dollar bounced against the greenback to buy 70.14 US cents.
Eight of the 11 sectors finished higher, with telecommunications and the major banks leading the market.
Communications giant Telstra shares jumped 1.89 per cent to $4.85, while TPG firmed 1.31 per cent to $3.88 and Spark New Zealand finished up 1.66 per cent to $1.53.
The banking giants also helped lift the ASX on Wednesday, with Commonwealth Bank up 0.91 per cent to $157.01, National Australia Bank surged 1.86 per cent to $39.93, Westpac closed 1.14 per cent higher to $35.53 and ANZ eked out a 0.62 per cent gain to $39.22.
Large falls from the technology sector, which dropped 3.32 per cent, hit the Australian market.
The market initially jumped on the opening bell before falling on a speech made by RBA deputy governor Andrew Hauser where he said inflation came in “materially worse” than expected.
Money markets took this as a sign that interest rates would be lifted again on Melbourne Cup day, which hurt the Australian sharemarket.
Betashares chief economist David Bassanese said recent comments from the RBA suggests the bank has lost patience waiting for inflation to meaningfully fall back into the target band and likely feels a more serious economic downturn may be required to bring this about.
“In short, the RBA seems increasingly prepared to risk a recession to get inflation down – given it has been above target for an extended period and it is sensing evidence of rising inflation expectations within the community,” he said.
“The RBA – along with other central banks – has likely become less confident the Iran war will end anytime soon and more appreciative of the upside inflation pressures the AI boom is causing, at least in the short-term.”
Rising oil prices also weighed on traders’ moods, with Brent Crude trading above $US110 ($A157) a barrel after reports emerged that a supertanker was hit by a sea mine in the critical Strait of Hormuz.
In company news, NextDC shares were absolutely smashed as it dropped 41.72 per cent to $5.35 after it slashed its earnings guidance by more than a third, just days after delays connecting the M3 Melbourne data centre to the power network.
Chemist Warehouse parent company Sigma Healthcare shares dragged 2.83 per cent to $2.75 after the company said cost-of-living pressures were hurting discretionary spending.
This was in part offset by strong gains in beauty, healthcare and spending on GLP-1 weight loss pills.
Mexican fast food chain Guzman y Gomez fell 0.75 per cent to $26.50 due to early backer TDM Growth Fund selling $89.5m worth of shares.