Australia shares climb as miners, energy stocks rally; Woodside jumps on upbeat results

July 23 (Reuters) – Australian shares rose on Wednesday led by miners and energy stocks, as investors stayed cautious ahead of the looming U.S. tariff deadline, while Woodside Energy climbed over 2% after posting stronger-than-expected second-quarter results.

The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.4% to 8,708.1 by 0031 GMT. The benchmark ended flat at 8,677.20 points on Tuesday.

With an August 1 deadline for sweeping U.S. import tariffs looming, investors await signs of relief, after Washington announced a trade deal with Japan.

Australia faces a 10% baseline tariff on most exports to the U.S.

Meanwhile, minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia’s July meeting on Tuesday showed a cautious stance in July, with board members deciding to keep the interest rate unchanged against market expectations, opting to wait for more evidence of a sustained slowdown in inflation.

Local miners led the charge on the benchmark by rising as much as 2.2%, tracking a rise in iron ore prices.

Shares of miners Fortescue were up 2.4%, while BHP and Rio Tinto gained 1.8% and 2.7% respectively.

Energy stocks climbed 0.8% due to rising oil prices.

Woodside Energy’s shares outpaced the broader sub-index, and were up 2.4%.

The country’s top gas producer reported a stronger-than-expected 8% rise in second-quarter revenue.

Gold stocks also rose 2.2%, tracking a surge in bullion prices.

Shares of gold miners Northern Star Resources and St Barbara were up 2.6% and 2.4% respectively.

Countering gains, the financials sub-index shed 0.2% with shares of National Australia Bank and Commonwealth Bank of Australia down 0.7% each.

Information technology sub-index also dropped 0.3%, with Australian-listed shares of Xero down 0.8%. Shares of WiseTech Global fell 0.6%.

New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.3% to 12,790.74.

(Reporting by Roshan Thomas in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)