The Australian sharemarket surged 1.8% on Wednesday, driven by unexpectedly low inflation figures, quashing expectations of a rate hike. All sectors experienced gains, led by consumer discretionary and materials stocks. Consumer confidence was boosted by the inflation data, while mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP reported strong profits. However, Origin Energy shares declined due to increased coal costs, and Regional Express entered voluntary administration. Commonwealth Bank surpassed BHP as Australia's most valuable company.
Futures
The Dow Jones futures are pointing to a rise of 22 points.
The S&P 500 futures are pointing to a rise of 37.75 points.
The Nasdaq futures are pointing to a rise of 255.50 points.
The SPI futures are up 139 points.
Best and worst performers
All sectors finished in the black. The best-performing sector was Information Technology, up 2.52 per cent. The sector with the fewest gains was Utilities, up 0.15 per cent.
The best-performing large cap was SEEK (ASX:SEK), closing 5.73 per cent higher at $21.97. It was followed by shares in Harvey Norman Holdings (ASX:HVN) and Technology One (ASX:TNE).
The worst-performing large cap was Computershare (ASX:CPU), closing 1.32 per cent lower at $27.65. It was followed by shares in Telix Pharmaceuticals (ASX:TLX) and Origin Energy (ASX:ORG).
Asian markets
Japan's Nikkei has gained 1.58 per cent.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng has gained 2.05 per cent.
China's Shanghai Composite has lost 1.28 per cent.
Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at US$2,462.00 an ounce.
Light crude is trading $1.37 higher at US$76.10 a barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 64.96 US cents.
