Australian share market rises on tech stock surge

A rally in tech stocks offset losses in mining and energy shares on Tuesday, pushing the benchmark into the green at the closing bell.

The Australian share market edged slightly higher on Wednesday, as a rally in tech stocks offset losses in mining and energy shares.

The S & P/ASX200 added 0.3 per cent, or 18.3 points, to close at 6,995.4, while the All Ordinaries climbed a similar amount, reaching 7198.4 points. The Australian dollar is buying US64.38c.

Across the benchmark, nine of 11 industry sectors finished in the green.

Tech sector heavyweight Xero added 1.6 per cent to $113.83, Wisetech Global climbed 2.1 per cent to $63.50, and Altium increased 2.2 per cent to $42.16.

Global oil prices have fallen to three-month lows, pushing the energy sector lower. Picture: AFP / Frederic J.Brown

Material stocks were the worst performing sector, falling 1.1 per cent, after a poor Chinese trade print stoked renewed concerns about the world’s second largest economy.

Singapore iron ore futures dropped 0.4 per cent to $US122.50 a tonne on the news trading on the December contract.

Iron ore giant Rio Tinto lost 2.1 per cent to $119.20, BHP fell further, dropping by 2.3 per cent to $44.50, while Fortescue sank 1.3 per cent to $23.06.

A drop in the global oil price, now sitting at three-month lows, also paired back gains in the energy sector.

Brent crude traded at near $US81 a barrel, causing sector heavyweight Woodside Energy to fall 0.6 per cent to $33.35.

Shares in coffee machine manufacturer Breville jumped 1.9 per cent. Picture: Supplied

In company news, James Hardie Industries — the world’s largest fibre cement producer — posted a record second quarter profit on Wednesday.

Shares traded 13.8 per cent higher to $46.97 a share.

Magellan Financial rose 0.6 per cent to $6.98 after shareholders voted against the money manager’s remuneration report at its annual general meeting.

Home appliances manufacturer Breville Group rose 1.9 per cent to $23.13 after the firm announced its half-yearly results had been as expected with input cost improvements flowing through to stronger margins.

The big four banks also recovered from sharp losses on Tuesday.

Westpac added 1.5 per cent to $21.65, Commonwealth Bank rose 0.7 per cent to $100.69, NAB increased 0.5 per cent to $29.17, and ANZ climbed 0.4 per cent to $25.56.

Originally published as Australian share market rises on tech stock surge