S&P 500 — US Large Cap Index
FTSE 100 — UK Blue Chips
Euro Stoxx 50 — Eurozone Leaders
DAX 40 — German Equities
CAC 40 — French Market Index
Nikkei 225 — Japan Benchmark
Hang Seng — Hong Kong Index
Shanghai Composite — China Mainland
ASX 200 — Australian Market
TSX Composite — Canada Index
Nifty 50 — India Large Cap
STI Index — Singapore Market
KOSPI — South Korea Index
Bovespa — Brazil Equities
JSE Top 40 — South Africa Index
IPC Index — Mexico Market
Australian shares rose 23 points, or 0.3%, in early Wednesday trade, marking a second straight gain after Wall Street rallied Tuesday on falling oil prices and hopes of a diplomatic breakthrough in the Middle East. Meanwhile, reports suggested that Washington and Tehran were discussing a second round of negotiations, but there’s no official schedule yet. Strength in the ASX 200 was capped by caution ahead of the releases of March labor market data and April inflation expectations in Australia in the coming days. Meantime, the IMF warned the US–Israel war on Iran risks sparking an “energy crisis of unprecedented scale” that could push the global economy into recession. Treasurer Jim Chalmers said Australians were “paying a hefty price for events on the other side of the world.” Healthcare, process industries, and non-energy minerals were mainly higher, with notable movers included Evolution Mining (7.4%), Genesis Minerals (4.8%), Pro Medicus (3.1%), and Northern Star Resources (2.6%).
