Staff writersUpdated July 15, 2026 — 5:24pm,first published July 15, 2026 — 5:15amThe Australian sharemarket finished stronger on Wednesday, shrugging off another rise in oil prices, after an unexpectedly sharp slowdown in US inflation fuelled gains on Wall Street and eased expectations about imminent interest-rate hikes in the world’s largest economy.The S&P/ASX 200 rose 32.60 points, or 0.4 per cent, to 8841.10, with six of its 11 industry sectors closing in the green. The local market was flat on Tuesday. The Australian dollar was up 0.2 per cent at US69.87¢ in late afternoon trade.America’s better-than-expected inflation data fuelled Wall Street, and also helped sentiment on the Australian market.APThe gains came even as oil prices continued to jump on worries that the United States and Iran may return to all-out war. The market was lifted by the mining heavyweights, with iron ore giants BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue all advancing after prices for the metal rose overnight, and Rio’s quarterly report this morning offered one of the first glimpses into how the war between the US and Iran is impacting major miners. The signals were encouraging.There had been “no material disruption to production or outbound supply chains across our core commodities,” Rio said in its operational update. However, diesel prices have risen from around $US85 a barrel to $US140 a barrel, it said.Rio shares climbed 1.1 per cent, while bigger rival BHP’s stock climbed 3.2 per cent ahead of its full-year operational review on Thursday morning, and Fortescue rose 0.3 per cent.A 4.4 per cent jump in James Hardie shares also boosted the mining sector, with investors buying the stock after America’s positive inflation surprise lifted expectations for consumer demand. Most of the Australian building materials makers’ sales are in the US.Meanwhile, Evolution Mining shed 3.7 per cent after the gold miner flagged inflation would lift its operating costs in the new financial year by 4 to 5 per cent, denting its profitability as it steps up spending to replace old trucks and invests in its infrastructure.Having opened higher, the big four banks finished mixed, with CBA rising 0.4 per cent, while Westpac slipped 0.2 per cent, National Australia Bank fell 1.1 per cent and ANZ Bank was down 0.4 per cent. ‘Millionaires’ Factory’ Macquarie rose 2 per cent to a fresh record high.The tech sector was mixed. AI data centre provider NextDC rallied 5.7 per cent, boosted by Dutch tech giant ASML, which lifted its annual sales forecast for the second time this year as a surge in artificial intelligence spending drives demand for its chip-making machines. ASML makes the lithography machines crucial for manufacturing advanced semiconductors, including Nvidia chips that are the backbone for training and running AI models in data centres.But software makers - widely viewed as potential losers in the AI revolution - struggled. Xero fell 3.6 per cent, WiseTech Global shed 1.4 per cent and Technology One fell 2.2 per cent.Energy stocks were also lower, as investors pocketed their profits from the latest oil spike. Oil and gas giant Woodside dropped 0.9 per cent, Santos slipped 0.3 per cent and refiner Ampol lost 1.1 per cent.The gains on the local market followed a rise on Wall Street overnight following America’s inflation data. The S&P 500 added 0.4 per cent to recover some of its 0.8 per cent loss from the prior day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average inched up 9.63 points for a basically flat close, and the Nasdaq composite finished 0.9 per cent higher.US stocks got help from easing yields in the bond market, which fell after a government report said US consumers had to pay 3.5 per cent more last month for petrol, food and other costs of living than a year earlier.While that’s more than nearly everyone would like, it wasn’t as bad as May’s 4.2 per cent inflation rate or the 3.9 per cent that economists expected for June. Less bad inflation could take pressure off the Federal Reserve, which is considering raising interest rates.Following the inflation report, traders see less than a 13 per cent chance that the Fed will raise its main interest rate at its next meeting later this month. That’s down from the nearly 42 per cent probability they saw the day before, according to data from CME Group.Rebounds for big, influential tech stocks also helped steady the US market. They’ve been swinging sharply recently on worries that they shot too high in the euphoria around artificial-intelligence technology and that the voracious demand for AI chips and data centres may fade if they don’t produce the promised profits and productivity.Micron Technology rose 4.9 per cent, and Nvidia added 4.1 per cent. A day before, they were two of the heaviest weights on the S&P 500 after falling 4.4 per cent and 3.5 per cent, respectively.To be sure, big risks remain for inflation. Fighting in the Middle East is threatening to close or slow traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that oil tankers use to exit the Persian Gulf and deliver crude to customers worldwide.Oil rose for a third day as US President Donald Trump threatened further strikes on Iran, hours after the US resumed its blockade on the Islamic Republic’s shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.The price for a barrel of Brent crude, the international standard, briefly topped $US87 in the morning after surging 11 per cent on the previous two sessions, which brought it back to where it was before the US and Iran signed their interim deal to halt their fighting last month.Trump told Fox News that the US will continue to strike Iran and may hit power plants and bridges next week unless Tehran comes to the negotiating table.Wall Street’s other big focus this week is the start of earnings reporting season, as companies tell investors how much profit they made from April through June. The pressure is on companies to deliver big growth to justify how high their stock prices have jumped. Indexes are near records despite the recent swings caused by worries about AI stocks.Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo all on Tuesday reported fatter profits for the latest quarter than analysts expected. Their reports showed strength for their trading desks and suggested spending by US consumers remains resilient.Fed Chair Kevin Warsh testified on Capitol Hill for the first time since taking over leadership of the central bank. He pledged to make high inflation “a thing of the past” but offered no signal about the Fed’s next steps.with AP, BloombergThe Market Recap newsletter is a wrap of the day’s trading. Get it each weekday afternoon.From our partners