ASX rises ahead of Fed rates decision

The news: The Australian sharemarket had a positive day on Wednesday, the benchmark ASX 200 finishing 0.9% higher at 6,838.30. The All Ordinaries lifted 0.8%, while the Australian dollar lost ground against the greenback and is buying 63.3 US cents. Miners bounced back after a soft day on Tuesday, with BHP (+1.5%), Fortescue (+2.3%) and Rio (+2.6%) all making solid gains.

The numbers: Real estate stocks topped the charts by sector, gaining 1.8%, followed by healthcare (+1.5%) and energy stocks (+1.1%). Utilities stocks fell 0.2%, led by a 0.7% drop in Origin's price as the hangover from the energy giant's rejected buyout entered a second day, and oil prices sputtered around their lowest levels since the end of August.

The context: The ABS will report on the balance on trade in goods tomorrow, having moved trade in services data to its balance of payments file. The US Fed funds rate will be released at 5am AEDT tomorrow morning. The Federal Reserve has signalled it will keep interest rates on hold tomorrow to evaluate the effect of past increases, but investors will be watching chair Jerome Powell for an indication of what data would require future hikes, as a December increase remains on the table.