News: NXT Australian shares rise on stimulus hopes; NZ lower

Australian shares traded higher on Wednesday, boosted by hopes for further stimulus measures to prop up a pandemic-hit economy, although gains were capped by fears of a second wave of coronavirus infections.

The S&P/ASX 200 index (xjo) rose 0.37% to 5,919.8 in early trade. The index finished 1.4% firmer on Tuesday after a senior central bank official said the economy would need "considerable" support for some time.

However, concerns over the pandemic's economic impact checked gains after the nation's second-biggest city, Melbourne, enforced the lockdown of 36 suburbs to counter a spike in coronavirus cases.

The gold subindex .AXGD rose 2.72%, with Newcrest Mining (NCM) rising more than 1% as bullion prices surged to a near eight-year high on safe-haven demand as virus cases rose.

Technology stocks gained more than 2%, with data centre manager NEXTDC Ltd (NXT) jumping nearly 6% as it added contracted commitments to its New South Wales data centre.

Metals and mining stocks .AXMM rose 0.86%, with global miner BHP Group (BHP) advancing 0.3%. Red 5 Ltd (RED) , 7.5% higher, was the biggest gainer on the subindex.

Energy stocks .AXEJ fell 0.4%, with Cooper Energy Ltd (COE) leading losses, as the virus' impact on demand coupled with a potential resurgence of Libyan oil production hurt oil prices.

Insurer Suncorp Group (SUN) fell 1.2% in early trade after saying it had set aside an additional $62 million-$90 million for natural hazard costs in 2020/21, compared with last year.

On Wall Street, the three major indexes rose between 0.9% and 1.9%.

The number of issues on the ASX that advanced were 772, while 340 declined.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index (nz50) fell 0.34% to 11,411.7.

Auckland International Airport Ltd (AIA) dropped 1.5% as it forecast a hit to reported profit and proposed further job cuts.