By noon AEST, the S&P/ASX200 was up 9.9 points, or 0.12 per cent, to 8159, as the broader All Ordinaries rose 8.6 points, or 0.1 per cent, to 8377.9.
The rise came after a negative lead from Wall Street, with all three major indexes down after a series of hawkish trade comments from US President Donald Trump, which were neutralised with news of US-China talks after markets closed.
"S&P500 futures have since surged 0.88 per cent to 5,673, taking back all their overnight losses and more, on reports that US Treasury Secretary Bessent and Trade Representative Greer are set to meet with China's lead representative on economic matters later this week in Switzerland," IG Markets analyst Tony Sycamore said.
Seven of 11 local sectors were trading higher by midday, including the bourse's two most valuable sectors, materials and financials.
A continued bounce in the oil price helped energy stocks surge 2.3 per cent, as flagged OPEC+ production hikes earlier in the week gave way to reports of potentially higher demand from Europe and China and signs of weakening US production.
Woodside was up 2.4 per cent to $20.43 ahead of its annual general meeting on Thursday.
A 0.2 per cent lift in financials was led by NAB, which rallied 2.6 per cent on the back of strong first-half results, driven by more growth of roughly seven per cent in business and institutional banking profit.
Westpac is lower for a third straight session and has lost six per cent since disappointing investors with a one per cent profit slip in the first half.
The Commonwealth Bank was trading slightly lower, down 0.2 per cent to $166.49, with the world's most expensive bank stock unable to break above $170 a share.Â
Hopes of an off-ramp for US-China trade tensions helped push the materials sector higher, with large-cap miners Fortescue, BHP and Rio Tinto all gaining more than 1.3 per cent.
Gold miners painted a messy picture, with the precious metal rising to within two per cent of $US3,500 an ounce before tumbling as sentiment pivoted back to risk-on, pushing it back to $US3,373, almost four per cent from its peak.
Northern Star and Newmont Corporation were both trading more than 0.6 per cent lower, while mid-tier gold producer West African resources was up more than two per cent.
Healthcare stocks continued to sell off, down 1.8 per cent after Mr Trump announced pharmaceutical sector tariffs earlier in the week.
Biotech giant CSL was down 2.2 per cent, while imaging company Pro Medicus lost 3.8 per cent and hearing device manufacturer Cochlear slipped 2.4 per cent.
The Australian dollar is trading at five-month highs to buy 64.88 US cents, up from 64.51 US cents at Tuesday's ASX close.
7°C