The Australian share market has closed slightly higher with an early boost from Wall Street keeping stocks in positive territory even as investors sold down on the latest local GDP numbers.
Australian shares made early gains after weak US economic indicators further reduced expectations of a rate hike but drifted lower for the afternoon trading session.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index finished 0.2 per cent higher at 5,424.2,.
Bell Direct equities analyst Julia Lee said Wall Street had risen overnight after weak US services sector data reduced expectations of a Federal Reserve rate hike in the near term.
“We saw bad news out of the US, which fed into US interest rate expectations, taken as a positive for markets,” Ms Lee said.
“The market has taken a step back from the highs of the session after the GDP numbers came out.”
She said Australia’s official gross domestic product (GDP), which rose by 0.5 per cent in the quarter and 3.3 per cent in the year to June, met expectations that were already priced in.
Dairy companies were among the best performers after global milk prices rose 7.7 per cent in latest the Global Dairy Trade auction.
Bega closed 19 cents, or about 3 per cent, higher at $6.51 and Murray Goulburn rose five cents, or 3.62 per cent, to $1.43.
The energy sector fell following a retreat in Brent crude oil prices, with Woodside Petroleum down 24 cents, or 0.84 per cent, at $28.46, and Santos down 22 cents, or 4.98 per cent, at $4.20.
While the four big banks already recorded gains ranging from 0.36 per cent to 1.62 per cent.
KEY FACTS:
* At 1615 AEST on Wednesday, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was up 10.6 points, or 0.2 per cent, at 5,424.2.
* The broader All Ordinaries index was up 10.7 points, or 0.19 per cent, at 5,521.1 points.
* The September share price index futures contract was up five points at 5,416 with 27,989 contracts traded.
* National turnover was 2.9 billion securities traded, worth $6.8 billion.
