Australian shares have ended on a high for the second day in a row thanks to strong gains by oil and mining stocks.
The benchmark ASX 200 index gained by 26.8 points, or 0.4 per cent, to finish the session at 7135.7.
Wednesday’s positive result continued on from Tuesday’s rebound where trading resulted in the biggest one-day rally in six months.
Energy companies led the charge with Woodside and Santos up 2.8 and 1.6 per cent respectively as oil prices lifted.
Most of the miners also received a boost today with Fortescue up by 2.5 per cent, BHP up 1.7 per cent and Rio Tinto advancing by 1.6 per cent.
Gold producers on the other hand did not perform well with Emerald Resources down 3.9 per cent and Perseus Mining dropping 2.1 per cent.
Bellevue Gold was the market’s worst performer, decreasing by a whopping 7.2 per cent.
Healthcare companies were also poor performers in today’s trading, with Cochlear down one per cent and EBOS Group down 0.9 per cent.
The banks have received mixed results as the chief executives of the big four appear before the House Standing Committee on Economics in Canberra on Wednesday and Thursday.
Up first on Wednesday were ANZ and NAB, with both companies rising by 0.9 per cent for their troubles.
Westpac also received a boost, up by 0.2 per cent while Commonwealth Bank received a 0.5 per cent contraction.
Macquarie Group shares rose by 0.9 per cent to reach $176.34 per share.
Inflation data out of the US is expected to influence Thursday’s markets, with expectations that a lower consumer price index will buoy Wall Street and Australian markets in turn.