Energy stocks lead ASX higher as oil jumps, $A nears US64c

The news: The Australian sharemarket finished higher on Wednesday after an oil price spike and a coal mine deal supercharged energy stocks. The benchmark ASX 200 closed 0.3% higher, while the all Ordinaries chalked up a 0.29% gain. The Aussie dollar has continued its uptrend, gaining roughly 1.5% against the greenback since the weekend and is buying 63.8 US cents. Oil gained more than 2% following a higher-than expected drawdown of US crude stocks and concerns of military escalation in the Middle East.

The numbers: Energy stocks jumped 2.5%, spurred by oil's gains and an 11.9% run by Whitehaven after it secured a deal to buy two of BHP's metallurgical coal mines. Energy stocks are up 3.1% since this time last week. Movements in other sectors were limited, except for a 0.9% boost to health care stocks and a 1.0% slide in utilities, led by Mercury NZ shedding 4.6%.

The context: Transurban, ASX, the Lottery Corporation, Orora and Arb Corporation will all hold annual general meetings tomorrow morning, and ABS employment data will follow at 11:30am AEDT. UK inflation data will be released at 5pm today, with EU CPI figures due later tonight.