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SYDNEY — Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 pushed toward record territory Wednesday as a blowout earnings result from Woolworths and a rally in mining stocks offset a sharp selloff in WiseTech Global, on a day marked by a wave of corporate results and fresh inflation data.

The index was up 0.56% to 9,215 points in afternoon trade, putting it at its highest level in two weeks and within 1% of the record high of 9,296 points reached earlier this month. The ASX 200 was on track for a third straight day of gains, with the Materials Index riding a five-day winning streak that included three consecutive record highs as copper and gold miners surged.

The rally came on a packed day for corporate Australia. Woolworths, WiseTech, Domino's, Lovisa, Nine, Netwealth, Sandfire, Tabcorp, Worley, Paladin and Cettire all released results Wednesday, spanning supermarkets, technology, jewelry, copper, uranium, fashion and more.

Woolworths was the standout performer. Australia's largest supermarket chain reported that its annual profit surged 18% to $1.138 billion for the last financial year. Shares in the grocery giant jumped as much as 5.4% to their highest level since September 2021.

The result extended a run of strong performances from the retailer, which has repeatedly topped analyst expectations in recent results. One market analyst noted the outcome was broadly softer than some had feared, with retail sales buoying headline numbers including an adjusted EBITDA increase of 96.5%, aided in part by a popular in-store promotion that ran for much of the reporting period.

WiseTech Global moved in the opposite direction. Shares in the logistics software company sank 7.8% to $41.92 after it released its full-year results Wednesday morning, despite reporting a 79% jump in revenue to US$1.40 billion. The decline appeared to be driven by weaker-than-expected growth in its flagship CargoWise platform and a softer outlook for its e2open business, according to reporting cited by The Australian. Cloud accounting company Xero also slid, with shares dropping nearly 5% to $84.51.

The pullback in WiseTech shares came after a period of heightened investor attention on the company's strategic direction. Earlier this year, the firm announced plans to cut roughly 2,000 jobs as it leaned further into artificial intelligence in its software development process. "The era of manually writing code as the core act of engineering is over," WiseTech chief executive Zubin Appoo said at the time, describing the shift. Wednesday's results suggested that transition has not yet translated into the growth investors were hoping for in the company's core freight forwarding software business.

Wednesday's trading also coincided with fresh inflation data that gave investors some reassurance on the interest rate outlook. The Consumer Price Index rose 3.5% in the 12 months to July 2026, down from 3.8% in the 12 months to June, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The softer reading came in below some forecasts. Economists at National Australia Bank had projected headline inflation would ease to 3.3% year-on-year, with energy rebates offsetting a roughly 6% jump in July petrol prices.

The inflation figures capped a month of closely watched data for the Reserve Bank of Australia, which has been weighing how aggressively to adjust interest rates amid persistent but gradually easing price pressures. The June reading released earlier in August had already shown headline inflation cooling. That report showed headline inflation easing to 3.8% year-on-year in the 12 months to June 2026, down from 4.0% in May and below the 4.0% consensus forecast, while the RBA's preferred trimmed mean measure held steady at 3.6% year-on-year, also below expectations.

Beyond the day's two biggest movers, several smaller-cap names posted dramatic swings tied to earnings. Defence and optical systems company Electro Optic Systems Holdings jumped nearly 24% after its half-year results showed revenue climbing 283% to $168.8 million, with underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization swinging to a $21.6 million profit from a $14.9 million loss a year earlier. The company also reported an order book of approximately $846 million and guided to full-year revenue of $360 million to $400 million, including a recent acquisition.

Engineering and infrastructure firm Worley also reported results Wednesday morning. The company posted aggregated revenue that was flat at $12.023 billion against estimates of $11.784 billion, a 2% beat, while underlying profit after tax fell 16.8% to $395 million, still ahead of the $380 million analysts had expected. Worley guided to mid-to-high single-digit growth in both revenue and underlying earnings for the coming year.

Wednesday's session built on a strong run over the past several trading days. On Tuesday, the ASX 200 closed with a gain of 0.68%, leaving the index at 9,164.6 points, after a mixed overnight session on Wall Street in which the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.26% while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.76%. Defence company Electro Optic Systems Holdings was Tuesday's top performer, with shares climbing 23.02% to close at $10.58 following its earnings release.

The index's performance over the past month has been volatile but broadly upward. Over the 52 weeks through late August, the S&P/ASX 200 ranged between 8,262.40 and 9,296.70, with the index climbing 4.47% between late July and late August alone. That run included at least one notable pullback. The index fell 0.27% on Aug. 21, closing at 9,058.9 points, as a reversal in that week's earnings winners — including a nearly 16% drop in buy-now-pay-later firm Zip Co — outweighed gains in gold and lithium miners. Real estate investment trusts were the weakest sector that session, falling 2.40%, led by a more than 5% decline in Goodman Group.

Looking ahead, investors are bracing for a busy stretch of scheduled events that could further move markets. Wesfarmers is due to report its full-year results Thursday, with an analyst briefing scheduled, while global attention will turn to the Jackson Hole economic symposium running from Thursday through Saturday, with a closely watched keynote address set for Friday.

For now, Wednesday's session reflected a market navigating conflicting signals — cooling inflation and a strong bricks-and-mortar retail result on one hand, and a sharp reversal in one of the country's marquee technology exporters on the other — as Australia's benchmark index continues to flirt with the record highs it set earlier this month.

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