Australian shares soared on Wednesday's close as the US and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire deal.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index climbed 2.55% or 223 points to close at 8,951.80, setting a new 20-day high.
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday agreed to suspend planned bombing and attacks on Iran for two weeks, following mediation from Pakistan. The US would help in traffic buildup in the Strait of Hormuz, the President added. Pakistan invited the Iranian and US delegations to meet in Islamabad.
Brent crude futures fell over 13% to $94.73 per barrel. Gold prices were up 2.5% to $4,820 per ounce.
On the domestic front, the number of seasonally adjusted dwellings commenced in Australia rose 8% to 53,567 units in the December 2025 quarter, compared with 49,582 units in the previous quarter, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed.
The ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian consumer confidence index increased 3.5 points to 62.3 in the week through April 5, rising from its record low in the previous week but still registering the second-lowest level on record. All sub-indices of the weekly rating strengthened and inflation expectations eased slightly, ANZ economist Sophia Angala said.
In company news, Goodman Group (ASX:GMG) said that it had formed a joint venture (JV) with DataBank to develop a 32 megawatt data center in Vernon, Los Angeles, targeting rising demand from cloud, artificial intelligence, and enterprise clients. Its shares closed up 7%.
Pro Medicus' (ASX:PME) Visage Imaging subsidiary secured a AU$23 million contract with the University of Maryland Medical System, with the five-year contract to see its cloud-based Visage 7 enterprise imaging platform implemented. Its shares rose 8% on market close.
Lastly, Flight Centre Travel Group (ASX:FLT) entered into a binding agreement to sell its around 47% shareholding in the Pedal Group cycle joint venture to the Turner Collective for AU$61.7 million, subject to shareholder approval and regulatory conditions. Its shares were up 7% on market close.
Comments