ASX 200 hits eight-week high; Southern Cross rejects approach; Santos court blow

Southern Cross rebuffs Catalano merger offer. Santos blocked from laying entire Barossa pipelines. Wages rise 1.3 per cent in 3Q. Optus says parent company Singtel's upgrade triggered outage. Platinum gets first strike. 

The ASX is set to open stronger following hefty gains on Wall Street as inflation moderates. Picture: Gaye Gerard/NCA Newswire

Welcome to the Trading Day blog for Wednesday, November 15. The ASX 200 index closes 1.4 per cent higher at 7105.90 points, after Wall Street's biggest gains in seven months. Property, tech and mining stocks lead ASX gains. US inflation slowed more than expected, raising hopes the Federal Reserve is done raising rates for now.

The Australian dollar jumped 2 per cent overnight and is now trading near US65.02c.