At noon AEST on Wednesday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 71.5 points, or 0.91 per cent, to 7,898.3, while the broader All Ordinaries had gained 74 points, or 0.92 per cent, to 8,115.3.
Overnight the US Labor Department announced producer price rises cooled in July, bolstering the case for a series of interest rate cuts later in 2024 and leading to a sharp rally on Wall Street.
Across the ditch, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand at midday cut interest rates from 5.5 per cent to 5.25 per cent in its first move since May 2023. The market's implied pricing had given two-third odds for a cut.
Nine of the ASX's 11 sectors were in the green at midday, with materials down marginally and energy 0.4 per cent lower.
The tech sector was the biggest gainer, up 1.9 per cent as Wisetech Global added 2.2 per cent and Megaport climbed 3.1 per cent.
Commonwealth Bank had grown 0.7 per cent to a two-week high of $133.38 as Australia's biggest company announced it would pay a higher-than-expected final dividend of $2.50 per share, despite its full-year cash profit falling two per cent to $9.8 billion.
"Our results demonstrate our continued focus on supporting our customers, our disciplined operational and strategic execution, and the strength of our balance sheet," CBA chief executive Matt Comyn said.
ANZ was up 1.4 per cent, Westpac had risen 1.1 per cent and NAB had crept 0.1 per cent higher.
The ASX itself was down 3.7 per cent to $63.44 after the securities regulator ASIC filed Federal Court proceedings against the exchange over its statements from February 2022 regarding its failed CHESS replacement project.
"We recognise the significance and serious nature of these proceedings," ASX managing director and chief executive Helen Lofthouse said.
"We co-operated fully with ASIC's investigation and are now carefully reviewing and considering the allegations."
In the heavyweight mining sector, Evolution had shot up 8.3 per cent to a four-month high of $4.125 after the goldminer reported it made a $422 million statutory net profit in 2023/24, up 158 per cent from the previous year.
"A decent result overall," RBC Capital Markets analyst Alex Barkley wrote in a client note. Gold production and capital expenditure guidance were broadly in line, Mr Barkley added.
Elsewhere in the sector, BHP was down 0.9 per cent, Fortescue had dipped 0.7 per cent and Rio Tinto had subtracted 0.6 per cent.
In health care, Pro Medicus had climbed 9.2 per cent to a two-week high of $143.69 after the medical imaging company announced its full-year profit had grown by more than a third, to $116.5 million.
In industrials, Seven Group was up 8.3 per cent to $39.76 after growing full-year operating earnings by 14 per cent to $1.93 billion.
"We are very pleased to have delivered another strong result this year," managing director Ryan Stokes said.
Seven West Media was up 1.6 per cent to 15.75c after the Seven Network owner said its underlying full-year net profit was down 46 per cent to $78 million, impacted by the ongoing decline in advertising markets.
"FY24 is a tough result for SWM in a challenging market," said managing director and chief executive Jeff Howard.
The Australian dollar was at a three-week high against its faltering US counterpart, buying 66.29 US cents, from 65.97 US cents at Tuesday's ASX close.
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