Australia shares rise as tech stocks track Wall Street higher

Australian shares ticked higher on Wednesday as tech stocks tracked an overnight rally in their US peers and miners advanced on robust commodity prices.

The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.27% to 6,995.9 in early trade, after closing flat on Tuesday.

Overnight, the S&P 500 closed at a record high and the Nasdaq composite index jumped, as investors remained unfazed by the halt in Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine rollout and strong US inflation.

In Australia, technology stocks jumped 2.1%, led by a 3.2% rise in Nearmap Ltd and a 3.11% gain in NEXTDC Ltd.

Miners climbed 0.6% as iron ore and copper prices ticked up on strong demand.

Gold stocks rose 2.2% as bullion prices bounced off a more than one-week low on Tuesday after data showed strong US inflation.

Resolute Mining Ltd jumped 9.57%, while Auteco Minerals Ltd gained 5%.

Energy stocks fell 0.6%, despite oil prices settling higher overnight on strong Chinese import data.

Beach Energy Ltd slipped 2.1%, while Oil Search Ltd lost 1.38%.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index climbed 0.27% ahead of a central bank meeting where it is expected to leave interest rates and its quantitative easing programme unchanged.