Australian shares edge higher as commodity stocks surge; inflation data in focus
Sept 25 (Reuters) -Australian shares inched higher on Wednesday after a two-session slide, as gains in commodity stocks after China's announcement of a stimulus package outweighed losses in financials, while investors awaited August inflation data due later in the day.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO rose 0.1% to 8,148.80 by 0038 GMT, after closing 0.1% lower on Tuesday. The Australian dollar AUD=D3 peaked at $0.6907 in early Asian trade, its highest since February 2023.
Investors were waiting for the August consumer price index (CPI) report to further gauge the Reserve Bank of Australia's rate outlook.
The central bank kept rates steady on Tuesday and said policy would have to be sufficiently restrictive to ensure inflation returned to target.
On Tuesday, China's central bank unveiled its biggest stimulus since the pandemic to pull the economy out of its deflationary funk and back towards the government's growth target.
In Sydney, mining stocks .AXMM surged 2.4% to a two-month high, after iron ore prices posted their biggest daily gain in more than a year on Tuesday. Rio Tinto RIO.AX and BHP BHP.AX gained 1.9%, and 2.5%, respectively. IRONORE/
Gold stocks .AXGD jumped as much as 2.6% to their highest since November 2020, after bullion prices rose 1% overnight and hit a record high. GOL/
Energy stocks .AXEJ rose as much as 0.9% after oil prices jumped nearly 2% overnight on China stimulus. O/R
Financials .AXFJ fell 1.3%, with the "Big Four" banks down between 1% and 2.8%.
Among individual stocks, Premier Investments PMV.AX dropped nearly 8.4% and was the top loser on the benchmark index, after the apparel retailer reported a 5% fall in annual profit.
Overnight, the U.S. Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 0.20%. The S&P 500 .SPX gained 0.25%, while the Nasdaq .IXIC rose 0.56%.
In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 was largely unchanged at 12,308.89.
Shares of Fonterra FCG.NZ rose 6.9% to their highest since July 2021. The dairy exporter posted a 25% drop in annual profit, but declared a special dividend.
Reporting by Ayushman Ojha in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu
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