Headline indices of the Australian financial market closed slight higher on Wednesday, 30 January 2019, as traders awaited the conclusion of a Federal Reserve policy meeting and U.S.-China talks with high level negotiations set to begin later stateside. Chinese Vice Premier Liu He is set to meet U.S. officials on Wednesday and Thursday, hot on the heels of Washington leveling sweeping charges against Beijing's telecom giant Huawei. At closing bell, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index added 12.53 points, or 0.21%, to 5,886.70 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index rose 11.66 points, or 0.2%, to 5,951.20 points.

All eyes are on a Federal Open Market Committee meeting ending Wednesday. Although the Fed is expected to leave its short-term interest rate unchanged, the nuances of a press conference by Chairman Jerome Powell will be closely watched.

Top US and Chinese trade officials return to the bargaining table on Wednesday, with extra tension in the atmosphere amid Washington's sweeping prosecution of Chinese telecoms giant Huawei. resident Donald Trump will reportedly meet Chinese Vice Premier Liu He in an attempt to move negotiations forward. But the Justice Department's charges against Chinese tech giant Huawei, its subsidiaries and a top company executive may be a hurdle. China has urged U.S. authorities to end what it called an unreasonable crackdown against Huawei, which has been accused of stealing technology and violating sanctions on Iran.

The world's two largest economies are battling for nothing less than future dominance in critical high-tech industries, according to US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, the lead US negotiator. A little over three years ago, Beijing launched a strategic plan dubbed Made in China 2025 that aimed to make the nation the global leader in aerospace, robotics, artificial intelligence, new-generation autos and other areas -- sectors US officials say now represent the crown jewels of American technology and innovation. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly said he favors a healthy Chinese economy but not at the expense of American business and know-how. In specific, US officials are attacking Chinese trade practices they say are unfair, spotlighting the forced transfer of American technology through requirements that foreign companies form joint ventures with local firms, as well as the alleged theft of American intellectual property through hacking. To pressure Beijing, the White House has slapped tariffs on $250 billion in Chinese imports. And Trump is poised to more than double US duty rates on $200 billion in goods from China to 25% on March 2 should the talks fail. Beijing has responded by slapping duties on virtually every product it buys from the United States, or about $110 billion in exports. Given the complexity of issues, a finished agreement is unlikely to emerge from the two days of talks in Washington this week. But US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Tuesday he expected significant progress, and noted the governments have another month left in the 90-day truce declared in December.

Shares of materials and resources were up, with shares of Australia's major miner BHP up 2.6%, Rio Tinto up 4.5%, and Fortescue Metals up 7.8%.

Shares of energy sector were up after an overnight oil price rise. Beach Energy was up 4%, Origin Energy rose 0.6%, and Santos climbed 1.5%.

Shares of major financials closed down. Commonwealth Bank finished 0.15% lower, ANZ was down 0.4%, NAB fell 0.04%, and Westpac dropped 0.4%.

ECONOMIC NEWS: Australia consumer prices were up 0.4% on quarter in the fourth quarter of 2018, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday - unchanged from Q3. On a yearly basis, inflation advanced 1.8%, down from 1.9% in the three months prior. The Reserve Bank of Australia's trimmed mean came in at 0.4% on quarter and 1.8% on year.

CURRENCY: Australian Dollar inclined against greenback and against a basket of other peers on Wednesday after more than expected rise in inflation rates in the December quarter. The Aussie dollar was buying 71.95 US Cents at the close, up from 71.65 US Cents on Tuesday; 78.66 Japanese yen, from 78.30; 62.90 euro cents, from 62.68; 54.96 British pence, from 54.50; 105.06 NZ cents, from 104.68.