Australian stocks gained smartly Wednesday on expectations of higher commodity prices with other Asia Pacific markets posting smaller gains or slim declines as attention remained on prospects to sustain record gains in the U.S.
The benchmark ASX 200 (^AXJO) advanced 71.02 points, or 1.31 percent, to 5,484.35, with most sectors finishing higher. The heavily-weighted financial sector rose 1.10 percent, while the energy and materials sectors tacked on 1.25 and 1.98 percent respectively.
Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at spreadbettor CMC Markets, said in a note that the "market appears to be in a capitulation phase for commodity bears."
"The consensus view is swinging towards commodity prices maintaining higher levels based on continued demand from China and improved U.S. demand," he added.
Mining names mostly rose, with major miners advancing more than 2 percent each. Shares of Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO-AU) closed up 2.52 percent, Fortescue (ASX:FMG-AU) was higher by 2.94 percent and BHP Billiton (London Stock Exchange: BLT-GB) added 2.65 percent.
The Australian dollar (Exchange:AUD=) jumped to a session high of $0.7444, climbing from levels near $0.7320 earlier in the week. At 4:19 p.m. HK/SIN, the Aussie traded at $0.7436.
Among other regional markets, in New Zealand, the NZX 50 (New Zealand Stock Exchange: .NZ50C) closed up 35 points, or 0.51 percent, at 6,851.45, while in South Korea, the Kospi (Korea Stock Exchange: .KS11) rose 4.48 points, or 0.23 percent, to 1,987.95.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index (Hong Kong Stock Exchange: .HSI) finished flat at 22,676.69, while Chinese mainland shares finished lower. The Shanghai (Shanghai Stock Exchange: .SSEC) composite fell 6.88 points, or 0.21 percent, to 3,241.46, while the Shenzhen (Dow Jones Global Indexes: .DJSZ) composite slipped 8.37 points, or 0.39 percent, to 2,129.51.
Japanese markets were closed Wednesday for the Labor Thanksgiving public holiday.
The session in Asia followed record high finishes on Tuesday in the U.S., and analysts expect the positive momentum in stocks to last in the near term.
"The current state of play is the bulls have got control here and that U.S. equity and many other developed markets are going higher, at least in the short-term," Chris Weston, chief market strategist at spreadbettor IG, said in a note on Wednesday.
The S&P 500 index (^GSPC) closed over 2,200 for the first time, finishing up 4.76 points, or 0.22 percent, at 2,202.94. The Dow Jones industrial average (Dow Jones Global Indexes: .DJI) hit 19,000 for the first time ever, advancing 67.18 points, or 0.35 percent, to end at 19,023.85, while the Nasdaq (^IXIC) gained 17.49 points, or 0.33 percent, to end at 5,386.35.