Real estate and banking stocks experienced a rally following comments from the Federal Reserve. The Australian dollar (AUD) has reached 68 cents against the US dollar. Uranium stocks also saw an increase, and oil prices have gained due to the escalation in the Middle East.
At the closing bell, the S&P/ASX 200 was 0.76 per cent higher at 8,084.50.
Futures
The Dow Jones futures are pointing to a fall of 15 points.
The S&P 500 futures are pointing to a fall of 0.25 points.
The Nasdaq futures are pointing to a rise of 6.75 points.
The SPI futures are up 55 points.
Best and worst performers
The best-performing sector was Communication Services, up 1.25 per cent. The worst-performing sector was Consumer Staples, down 0.85 per cent.
The best-performing large cap was James Hardie Industries plc (ASX:JHX), closing 5.09 per cent higher at $54.35. It was followed by shares in SEEK (ASX:SEK) and Meridian Energy (ASX:MEZ).
The worst-performing large cap was Endeavour Group (ASX:EDV), closing 6.87 per cent lower at $5.15. It was followed by shares in Spark New Zealand (ASX:SPK) and Mercury NZ (ASX:MCY).
Asian markets
Japan's Nikkei has lost 0.66 per cent.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng has gained 0.86 per cent.
China's Shanghai Composite has gained 1.47 per cent.
Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at US$2,545.40 an ounce.
Iron ore is 1 per cent lower at US$96 a tonne.
Iron ore futures are pointing to a 2.68 per cent rise.
Light crude is trading $0.50 higher at US$75.34 a barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 67.75 US cents.
