On the losing side, Telstra slid 2.6 per cent after it reported an annual net profit of $2.34 billion – up 31 per cent year-on-year – and said it had cut operating expenses by 6 per cent.

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Mining stocks were mixed. Fortescue has climbed 1.1 per cent, BHP added 0.5 per cent while Rio Tinto fell 2.4 per cent.

The Australian dollar was stronger at US65.59¢ at 12:30pm.

Overnight, the S&P 500 rose 0.3 per cent, coming off its latest all-time high. The Dow Jones climbed 463 points, or 1 per cent, while the Nasdaq composite added 0.1 per cent to its own record set the day before.

Treasury yields eased in the bond market as expectations reached a virtual consensus that the Federal Reserve will cut its main interest rate for the first time this year in September. Lower rates can boost investment prices and the economy by making it cheaper for US households and businesses to borrow to buy houses, cars or equipment, though they risk worsening inflation.

Stock indexes in Asia jumped in their first trading after Tuesday’s better-than-expected report on US inflation triggered a jump in bets that a cut to interest rates is coming. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng leaped 2.6 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei 225 rallied 1.3 per cent and South Korea’s Kospi climbed 1.1 per cent.

Indexes also rose in Europe, though the moves were more modest after they already had the chance to trade on the US inflation data the afternoon before. Germany’s DAX returned 0.7 per cent, and France’s CAC 40 rose 0.7 per cent.

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On Wall Street, stocks of companies that could benefit most from lower interest rates helped lead the way. The hopes for lower interest rates are helping to drown out criticism that the US stock market has broadly grown too expensive after its big leap since hitting a low in April.

Bullish soared in its debut on the New York Stock Exchange and rose 83.8 per cent in its first day of trading. The cryptocurrency exchange’s CEO is Tom Farley, who used to be president of the NYSE Group.

On the losing end of Wall Street were grocery stores and delivery companies, which fell after Amazon said it will offer fresh groceries to customers in more than 1000 cities and towns through same-day delivery. Kroger fell 4.4 per cent, and DoorDash dropped 3.8 per cent, while Amazon rose 1.4 per cent.

In the bond market, Treasury yields eased as expectations built for coming cuts to interest rates by the Fed.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.23 per cent from 4.29 per cent late Tuesday and from 4.50 per cent in mid-July. That’s a notable move for the bond market.

President Donald Trump has angrily been calling for cuts to help the economy, often insulting the Fed’s chair personally while doing so.

But the Fed has been hesitant so far because of the possibility that Trump’s tariffs could make inflation much worse. Lowering rates would give inflation more fuel, potentially adding oxygen to a growing fire. That’s why Fed officials have said they wanted to see more data come in about inflation before moving.

On Thursday, a report will show how bad inflation was at the wholesale level across the United States. Economists expect it to show inflation accelerated a touch to 2.4 per cent in July from 2.3 per cent in June.

with AP

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