The Australian sharemarket rose on Wednesday, buoyed by strong results from Pro Medicus and Seven Group Holdings in a busy week of company earnings.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index added 0.3 per cent, or 23.9 points, to hit 7850.7 at the closing bell, led by a sharp rally in industrial and healthcare stocks. Nine out of the 11 sectors were in the green.

The All Ordinaries rose 0.4 per cent.

TMS Capital portfolio manager Ben Clark said the gains in local shares were in part due to the “continuation” of the better-than-expected results from some of the market darlings this week.

“I think we’re seeing quite a few companies, the market darlings such as Pro Medicus and Seven Group who have had strong runs in their share prices, actually deliver [on their results] and are now continuing to be rewarded for it,” Mr Clark said.

The sharemarket was also buoyed by a strong rally on Wall Street overnight, which sent the Nasdaq up 2.4 per cent after the latest US inflation reading reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will cut rates next month.

On the ASX, health stocks climbed 1.7 per cent, led by a 7.2 per cent rally in Pro Medicus to $141 after it posted a full-year net profit of $82.8 million – 36.5 per cent higher than a year earlier.

The industrials sector was led by a rally in Seven Group, which advanced 6.8 per cent to $2.48 after it said it expected high single-digit earnings before interest and taxes expansion for FY25.

The commodity sector, however, capped the ASX 200’s gain on Wednesday after iron ore futures in Singapore sank a further 3.4 per cent to $US95.25 a tonne by late afternoon, as steel mills in China continue to grapple with slumping prices and soft demand.

Mining giants and index heavyweights BHP and Rio Tinto tracked the lower commodity price, falling 2.8 per cent to $39.62 and 2.6 per cent to $112.43, respectively.

Stocks in focus

In corporate news, AGL Energy jumped 2.3 per cent to $11.06 after the company posted a turnaround in earnings. Underlying net profit, a figure closely watched by the market, jumped to $812 million, up from $281 million in the 2023 financial year. The figure narrowly beat AGL’s upgraded guidance in May.

Commonwealth Bank added 1.3 per cent to $134.21 after it reported a $9.8 billion cash profit for the year to June 30, down 2 per cent on the previous year – but beating market expectations.

ASIC is suing Australia’s largest market operator, ASX Ltd for allegedly making misleading statements related to its Clearing House Electronic Subregister System (CHESS) replacement project. Its shares dropped 3.7 per cent to $63.45.

Glass bottles and cans maker Orora rallied 5.3 per cent to $2.39 after reporting a revenue bump of 9.5 per cent to $4.29 billion. The company, which on Tuesday rejected a $3.3 billion buyout offer from private equity group Lone Star, also outlined a difficult outlook with large customers in the spirits, wine and beer industries cutting back on orders.

And Evolution Mining surged 6.6 per cent to $4.06 after its full-year profits nearly tripled due to the surge in the gold price, driven by war in the Middle East and global economic fragility.