The Australian sharemarket has bounced back slightly after Tuesday’s heavy losses.

On Tuesday local stocks suffered their heaviest losses since August after nervous investors reacted to a sharp fall in US manufacturing activity growth.

Options Xpress market analyst Ben Le Brun said while the Australian market had rebounded after Tuesday’s $28 billion wipeout, it was still underperforming compared to Wall Street overnight.

“There’s still broader concerns in the markets,” he said.

“Obviously we’re in earnings season at the moment, so there’s a lot of uncertainty in terms of what the overall landscape of the Australian corporate world is going to look by the end of next month.”

Mr Le Brun said the Australian market could get a lift later on Wednesday as Japan’s Nikkei is expected to gain 1.5 to 2 per cent due to the yen falling overnight.

He said cyclical stocks such as materials, industrials and consumer discretionary sectors were outperforming consumer staples and healthcare in early trade.

The mining giants all opened stronger.

At 1025 AEDT BHP Billiton gained six cents to $35.56, Rio Tinto added 54 cents to $64.65 and Fortescue surged 9.5 cents to $5.285.

The major banks opened mixed.

National Australia Bank gained one cent to $34.20, ANZ added eight cents to $29.38 and Commonwealth Bank increased 13 cents to $73.33.

Wesfarmers, which owns supermarket giant Coles, dropped 34 cents to $41.25 but Woolworths gained 27 cents to $33.96.

KEY FACTS

* At 1025 AEDT on Wednesday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index had gained 11.8 points, or 0.23 per cent, to 5,108.9 points.

* The broader All Ordinaries index had added 12.2 points, or 0.24 per cent, at 5,126.3 points.

* The March share price index futures contract was up six points at 5,056 points, with 14,128 contracts traded.

* National turnover was 231.1 million securities worth $433.4 million.