Mining stocks once again led the Australian sharemarket higher on Wednesday amid growing expectations of a brighter outlook for iron ore demand.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.3 per cent, or by 24.3 points, to 7848.5 at the closing bell, with eight out of the 11 sectors in the green. The All Ordinaries added 0.4 per cent.

The materials sector was one of the best performers, climbing 0.9 per cent. The gains tracked an extended rally in iron ore overnight above $US100 a tonne. BHP rose 0.7 per cent to $45.46, Fortescue Metals added 1.9 per cent to $25.74 and Rio Tinto jumped 1.9 per cent to $127.75.

“April and May are China’s busiest period for construction. Output from some blast furnaces is already starting to pick up in anticipation,” ANZ strategists Brian Martin and Daniel Hynes said. “[Iron ore] inventories at Chinese ports have also fallen slightly in recent weeks.”

CPI ahead

Iron ore futures in Singapore jumped 3.2 per cent to above $US107 a tonne on Tuesday before dipping to $US106.60 on Wednesday.

Elsewhere in the materials sector, gold reset a record high at $US2365 an ounce. Gold producers tracked the higher bullion price with Coronado Global Resources up 3.5 per cent to $1.185 and Newmont Corporation increased 0.7 per cent to $60.

Healthcare stocks were also among the best performers on the ASX, led by sector heavyweight CSL, up 1.2 per cent to $283.37. Medical gloves maker Ansell extended its 6.5 per cent rally from Tuesday, to finish up 4.1 per cent to $26.46. ResMed rallied 2.2 per cent to $29.13, and Neuren added 2.2 per cent to $20.94.

The advance in Australian shares tracked a late rebound on Wall Street and a drop in US Treasury yields from a more than four-month high as investors await key US inflation data.

The CPI data, due out after the market closes on Wednesday, will help shape the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate policy this year. It’s expected to show core inflation, which excludes volatile components such as food and energy, of 3.7 per cent year-on-year, versus 3.8 per cent in February.

Interest rate sensitive information technology stocks fell ahead of the inflation data, with WiseTech down 3 per cent to $89.17 and Xero off 1.2 per cent to $122.20.

Stocks on the move

Gold producer Perseus Mining lost 2.6 per cent to $2.27 after it said Canada’s Silvercorp had accepted its takeover offer to buy its 15.6 per cent stake in OreCorp. Shares of OreCorp were little changed at 57¢.

ASX-listed online wagering provider BlueBet’s shares were placed in a trading pause after they jumped 20 per cent to 30¢. The Australian Financial Review’s Street Talk column first revealed that Matt Tripp’s Betr was poised to make its way onto the ASX and was gearing up to sign an all-scrip merger deal with BlueBet.