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.