Australian shares recovered from a slightly lower open as investors braced for market volatility and watch for international responses to Russian President Vladimir Putin's next moves against Ukraine.
The ASX 200 closed up 0.6 per cent to 7,206, with technology (+1pc) and industrial (+1.8pc) sectors leading the way.
The All Ordinaries index was up 0.7 per cent to 7,474.
Domino’s Pizza led the worst falls on the ASX 200, diving 14 per cent to $86.13 after warning of lower growth in same-store sales and posting a 5.3 per cent fall in underlying profit.
Ramelius Resources was down 4.2 per cent, Scentre Group 4.4 per cent, Costa Group 8.6 per cent and JB Hi-Fi was off 5.2 per cent, rounding out the top five falls.
Hub24 (+9.9pc), Paladin Energy (+9.1pc), Tyro (+8.6pc), Zip (+8.4pc) and Nickel Mines (+8.2pc), which posted a 25 per cent rise in profits, were leading the gainers.
Woolworths was up 1.4 per cent to $35.68, despite the company cutting its interim dividend on a substantial profit fall.
The Australian dollar was up at 72.31 US cents by 04:23pm AEDT.
RBNZ delivers third consecutive hike
New Zealand's central bank raised interest rates by 25 basis points on Wednesday, a third consecutive hike that brings borrowing costs to pre-pandemic levels, and said it would sell bonds as it looks to counter rising inflation.
All but one of the 20 economists in a Reuters poll had expected RBNZ to hike rates by 25 basis points to 1 per cent, while one was poised for a 50 basis point hike.
But RBNZ flagged a more aggressive tightening path, which sent the New Zealand dollar soaring over 0.5 per cent to $0.6765 after the announcement.
The bank also said it would commence the gradual reduction of its bond holdings under the Large Scale Asset Purchase (LSAP) program through both bond maturities and managed sales.
RBNZ forecasts the cash rate reaching 3.35 per cent in March 2025. The rate would reach 2.57 per cent by March 2023, a more aggressive path than the 2.3 per cent seen in the previous forecast in November.
The committee said a 50-basis point OCR move was strongly considered and members saw this as a "finely balanced decision."
The RBNZ hiked rates at its last two meetings and signalled further tightening as it looked to cool a heated economy.
Global supply constraints pushed inflation to 5.9 per cent, almost double the top of the bank's 1-3 per cent target range, and jobless rates to a record low of 3.2 per cent. House prices have also soared to historic highs.
But uncertainties remain over the outlook as the Omicron variant spreads more rapidly through New Zealand and the market braces for any global economic fallout from potential conflict in the Ukraine.
Oil prices hit 7-year high
Crude oil futures rose to their highest levels since 2014 on supply concerns, while Wall Street equities fell a day after Mr Putin ordered troops into the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine.
Brent crude futures were up at $US96.50 a barrel by 07:12am AEDT, after earlier topping $US99 to reach the highest level since September 2014, reflecting fears that Russia's energy exports could be disrupted by any conflict.
US stocks further trimmed losses after US President Joe Biden announced the first wave of sanctions against Russia, for what he said was the beginning of an invasion of Ukraine.
Mr Biden also said he was hopeful diplomacy was still available, adding that the United States had no intention of fighting Russia. He said the sanctions, among others things, target Russian banks and sovereign debt.
"The world is still hoping this is somewhat limited and doesn't really spread across Europe and Ukraine," said Peter Tuz, president of Chase Investment Counsel in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Earlier on Tuesday, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance believed Russia was still planning a big assault on Ukraine following Moscow's recognition of two separatist regions in the former Soviet republic's east.
Britain published a list of sanctions and Germany froze the Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea gas pipeline project, which would have significantly increased the flow of Russian gas.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 483 points, or 1.4 per cent, at 33,597, while the S&P 500 lost 44 points, or 1 per cent, falling to 4,305 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 167 points, or 1.2 per cent, to 13,382.
The Dow and Nasdaq were each down more than 2 per cent shortly before Mr Biden spoke.
Europe's STOXX 600 index was essentially flat after falling just under 2 per cent earlier in the day and losing 1.3 per cent on Monday when US markets were closed for a holiday.
"The bottom line is that fear factor remains elevated and until we get some sort of a clearer picture of what Putin may or may not do," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York.
And rising oil prices added to the uncertainty as investors worried about the implications for Federal Reserve policy changes aimed at combating high inflation.
"If oil prices continue to rise and go above $100 and stay there for sustained period of time that means you're going to have even higher inflation," he said.
ABC/Reuters
