The Australian sharemarket climbed to a three-month high on Wednesday, with investors optimistic amid signs the economy is recovering from recession.

“However, a risk is that markets are pricing in a lot of good news that might not materialise in the second half of the year.
“If were heading for weaker growth and lower inflation, investors need to look for companies that can protect margins long-term, hence security selection is more important right now than the top down macro narrative.”
The major banks led the gains on the local market, rallying after the better-than-expected January-March GDP report.
Commonwealth Bank led the advance, rising 3.3 per cent to $66.11, NAB firmed 4.6 per cent to $18.70, ANZ climbed 5 per cent to $18.92 and Westpac added 4.4 per cent to close at $17.95.
Macquarie Group also closed higher, up 2.5 per cent to $116.10, QBE Insurance rose 5.2 per cent to $8.95, and Insurance Australia Group added 3.7 per cent to $6.23.
A number of other blue chips also supported the advance. BHP Group closed 2.6 per cent higher at $36.34, Transurban rose 2.3 per cent to $14.95, Woolworths added 1.5 per cent to $36.08, South32 climbed 6.9 per cent to $2.16 and Wesfarmers firmed 1.2 per cent to $41.58.
The energy sector was also well-supported with OPEC+ producer nations edging closer to extending an agreement to cut output in order to rebalance the oil market.
Santos advanced 4.2 per cent to $5.75, Woodside Petroleum rose 2.6 per cent to $23.50, Oil Search climbed 5.2 per cent to $3.62, Beach Energy firmed 3.3 per cent to $1.73 and Origin Energy added 2.5 per cent to $6.19.
The buy now, pay later sector was also receiving a strong bid.
Zip Co soared 22.1 per cent to $6.35, extending its 39 per cent rise in the previous session after announcing the acquisition of QuadPay and expanding into the US market.
Afterpay was also among the market’s best performers, rising 5.5 per cent to $52.26.
SkyCity Entertainment rose 8.4 per cent to $2.59 after reporting electronic gaming machine revenue had recovered to 80 per cent of the daily average in the eight months preceding the pandemic.
The local gold stocks led the market losses as the price of the precious metal dipped, reflecting the risk-on sentiment across global markets.
Newcrest Mining dipped 2.3 per cent to $30.02, Evolution Mining fell 5.8 per cent to $5.86, Northern Star Resources slid 5.5 per cent to $14.29, Saracen Mineral Holdings dropped 6.2 per cent to $4.82, Silver Lake Resources slipped 8.4 per cent to $2.06, Gold Road Resources lost 6.3 per cent to $1.71, St Barbara declined 3.7 per cent to $3.10 and Resolute Mining closed the session 4.7 per cent lower at $1.12.
Healthcare stocks also took a hit. CSL slid 0.4 per cent to $283.55, ResMed dropped 1.7 per cent to $23.19, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare declined 1.8 per cent to $27.27 and Pro Medicus tumbled 2.4 per cent to $27.67.