Australia

The Australian share market has notched a fourth straight session of gains, driven by strength in the energy, mining and retail sectors.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 0.3 per cent at 5861.4 points; the broader All Ordinaries was up 0.4 per cent at 5956.3 points.
Gains by oil and gas producers, miners and retailers offset falls in the financial, healthcare and telecommunications sectors. Investor confidence has improved as fears of a US-China trade dispute ease, along with US tensions with Russia in Syria.
A rise in oil and iron ore prices helped lift the miners and oil and gas producers.
Oil Search gained 2.1 per cent; Origin Energy rose 1.5 per cent and Woodside Petroleum rose 1.1 per cent after reporting a lift in first-quarter production and sales revenue.
BHP Billiton gained 0.5 per cent, Fortescue Metals rose 0.9 per cent, to $4.55, while Rio Tinto rose 1.1 per cent after its first quarter iron ore production rose 8 per cent from a year ago.
Wealth manager AMP fell 2.2 per cent, continuing its decline since admitting to the financial services royal commission that it had lied to or misled the corporate regulator about its business practices. All four major banks also lost ground, with Commonwealth Bank the worst performer, down 0.5 per cent.
The Australian dollar was trading at US77.65c at 1630 AEST, down from US77.85c on Tuesday. Jobs data is out today.

Asia

Asian shares crept ahead after upbeat corporate earnings in the US. However, trade barrier fears and the global growth outlook kept a lid on currencies and bonds.
Late Tuesday, the PBOC unexpectedly announced it would cut the cash banks must hold as reserves in a move that frees up lending for small firms but falls short of a broad monetary easing.
Mainland Chinese shares buckled after the US banned American companies from selling components to Chinese telecom equipment maker ZTE Corp.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan bounced 0.5 per cent, though that followed four straight sessions of losses.
Japan’s Nikkei climbed 1.2 per cent, with investors waiting for any developments on trade as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe meets President Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort.

Europe

Surging mining stocks and a fall in the pound boosted Britain’s FTSE 100 on Wednesday, with metals prices climbing on supply concerns and data showing an unexpected dip in inflation.
On the mainland, Germany’s DAX 30 index rose 0.04 per cent, and France’s CAC index was up 0.5 per cent.
The biggest miners Anglo American, BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Glencore all surged by between 5.4 and 7.7 per cent, driven up by continuing aluminium price strength after US sanctions on Russian producer Rusal sparked concerns of a supply bottleneck in metals markets.

North America

The S&P500 edged up 0.08 per cent while the Dow fell after a volatile trading session, with weakness in sectors such as consumer staples and financials offsetting strong gains in the energy and industrial indexes.
Higher oil prices boosted energy stocks while transport stocks such as CSX Corp helped the industrial sector. But IBM’s 7.5 per cent drop was the biggest drag on the S&P after the technology company’s quarterly profit margins missed Wall Street targets.
United Continental gained 4.8 per cent and lifted other airline stocks after reporting a better-than-expected quarterly profit.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.16 per cent, to 24,748.07, and the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.19 per cent to 7295.24.

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Lex Hall is a Morningstar content editor, based in Sydney

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