Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Climbs 0.53% to Nine-Month High on Wall Street Cues

Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 39.30 points, or 0.53%, to 7,516.00 on Wednesday, touching a nine-month high of 7,537.70 earlier and recouping losses from the prior two sessions. The broader All Ordinaries Index gained 39.90 points, or 0.52%, to 7,726.00. Mining and financial stocks led gains, with BHP Group and Fortescue Metals each up nearly 1% and ANZ Banking up more than 1%. Gold miners and energy stocks lagged, with Gold Road Resources down almost 3% and Beach Energy off nearly 2%. Flight Centre shares surged almost 9% after the company said it is raising A$180 million to fund the A$211 million acquisition of British travel business Scott Dunn. The Judo Bank manufacturing PMI fell to 50.0 in January from 59.2 in December, landing on the expansion-contraction threshold. The Australian dollar traded at $0.705.