Australian shares rose on Wednesday, led by gains in miners, while Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell struck a moderately dovish tone in his comments, suggesting that the central bank is more than likely to start its easing cycle later this year.

The S&P/ASX 200 index was up 0.2% at 7,731.700 points by 0043 GMT.

The benchmark fell 0.4% in the previous session.

On Tuesday, Powell said that the US is back on a “disinflationary path”, though the Fed needed to see more progress before changing policy.

Following Powell’s remarks, more than 61% of market participants expect the central bank to cut interest rates at its September meeting compared to 59.8% a day earlier, according to the CMEFedWatch tool.

Back in Sydney, mining stocks inched 0.6% up, aided by a rise in global iron ore prices.

Mining heavyweight BHP Group advanced 0.2% while iron ore miner Rio Tinto lost 0.2%.

Financials snapped a two-day losing streak to gain as much as 0.5%.

The ‘Big Four’ banks all rose between 0.3% and 0.7%.

Energy stocks gained 0.4% despite a fall in global oil prices, which fell as fears of Hurricane Beryl causing supply disruptions faded away.

Australian shares hit record high; RBA cautious on inflation

The sub-index is on its track for a seventh consecutive session of gains.

Woodside Energy gained 0.3%, while smaller peer Santos added 0.5%.

Healthcare shares traded flat, while IT stocks rose 0.3%, snapping a two-day losing streak as they tracked their US peers higher. Real estate stocks jumped 0.3% on the day.

Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index rose 0.2% in early trade.