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Headline indices of the Australian financial market gained on Wednesday, 12 December 2018, as investors continued hunting for heavily battered stocks on hopes for progress in resolving the trade war between China and the United States. ASX sectors were higher, with healthcare, materials, energy, and financials issues were notable gainers. In late afternoon trades, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 78.02 points, or 1.4%, to 5,653.90 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index added 75.09 points, or 1.33%, to 5,726.30 points.

The risk appetite buying underpinned after a reports that China is moving to cut import tariffs on American-made cars from 40% to 15%, and news that Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou, who faces extradition to the US, was granted bail in Canada.. That report came after Chinese Vice Premier Liu He exchanged views on the next stage of trade talks with U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. U.S. President Donald Trump said in an interview with reporters that talks were taking place with Beijing by phone and he would not raise tariffs on Chinese imports until he was sure about a deal.

Investors were looking ahead to the US consumer price report later on Wednesday where an expected slowdown in headline inflation would only reinforce speculation of fewer rate hikes from the Federal Reserve.

Shares of healthcare issue were advanced for second straight session, with Sigma Healthcare was the best performer, up over 3%. Biotech CSL rose 1% and ResMed added 1.5%. Sonic Healthcare shares were in a halt for a capital raising to fund the A$750 million acquisition of US pathology services firm Aurora Diagnostics, a deal it says will create one of the largest pathologist groups in the world.

Shares of materials and resources were higher, as prices of copper and most other base metals edged higher. Major miners BHP rose 1.1% and Rio Tinto was up 1.2%. South32 and BlueScope were up 2.6% and 3.1%.

Energy stocks gained on following higher oil prices, with Santos and Origin each up 2.2%. Beach Energy, Woodside and Caltex were also higher.

Financial stocks moved up with the Big Four banks - the top lenders - all strengthening, with Commonwealth Bank gaining 0.8%, followed by ANZ and NAB rising 0.6% and 0.7%. Westpac was the weakest of the big four lenders ahead of its AGM in Perth on Wednesday, up 0.3%.

CURRENCY: Australian Dollar, seen as a proxy for China-related trades, edged up against greenback on Wednesday, as traders waffled between optimism and skepticism about a potential trade agreement between the U.S. and China. The Australian dollar was quoted at $0.7211, up from $0.7204 on Tuesday.

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