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The Australian sharemarket has moved higher in morning trade, with falls in energy and mining stocks holding back the index. All other industry sectors rose following an up-and-down session on Wall Street overnight.
The S&P/ASX 200 was 0.3 per cent higher at 12.21pm AEST, adding 18 points to 6,526.50. Energy stocks declined by 2.1 per cent as oil prices again fell overnight amid investor fears that interest rate rises could drive the US into recession, reducing demand for fuel. Woodside dropped by 2.9 per cent while Santos was down 2.1 per cent.
Wall Street dipped late in the session to close lower.Credit:AP
Falling iron ore prices weighed on the mining sector, with Chinese futures declining on Wednesday to their lowest level in 16 weeks according to Reuters, due to worries about an oversupply of steel in China. Iron ore giant BHP lost 2.5 per cent, Rio Tinto shed 2.6 per cent and Fortescue declined by 3.4 per cent. The entire materials sector lost 1.9 per cent.
All other sectors were slightly higher, with real estate stocks leading the way, rising by 2.3 per cent. Banking stocks were also trending positively, and the interest-rate-sensitive tech sector was moving 1.5 per cent higher.
The lifters: Genesis Energy 4.9%, IPH 4.5%, James Hardie Industries 4.3%
The laggards: Lake Resources -17.9%, St Barbara Limited -12.8%, Ramelius Resources -8.7%
A choppy day of trading on Wall Street ended with a modest pullback for stocks overnight, the latest bout of volatility for the market amid concerns about inflation and uncertainty over whether rising interest rates will help or hinder the economy.
The indices were on pace for a modest gain before slipping into the red in the final minutes of trading. The S&P 500 dropped 0.1 per cent, with the stocks in the benchmark index about evenly split between gainers and decliners. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gave up 0.2 per cent and the Nasdaq fell 0.1 per cent.
Energy companies helped pull the market lower after the price of US crude oil fell 4 per cent. Technology companies also lost ground, which helped keep gains in health care, real estate and other sectors in check.