Australian Dollar Strengthens As U.S. Stocks Climb

The Australian dollar advanced against its major counterparts in the European session on Wednesday, as strong earnings results from Nike and FedEx lifted sentiment.

Nike shares jumped after reporting better than expected fiscal second quarter results and upbeat full-year revenue guidance.

Shares of FedEx rose after the company announced that its fiscal second quarter results exceeded analyst estimates.

Oil prices climbed after industry data showed a larger than expected draw in U.S. crude stocks.

Data from Westpac showed that Australia's leading index signaled a sustained period of below trend growth as the economy faces headwinds from the lagged monetary policy tightening, falling wages and weak property market among other things.

The six-month annualized growth rate in the Westpac-Melbourne Institute Leading Index fell to -0.92 percent in November from -0.84 percent in October.

The aussie edged up to 0.6717 against the greenback and 0.9141 against the loonie, off its early lows of 0.6657 and 0.9064, respectively. The currency is likely to locate resistance around 0.685 against the greenback and 0.94 against the loonie.

The AUD/NZD pair touched 1.0645, its highest level in a week. On the upside, 1.09 is possibly seen as its next resistance level.

The aussie reversed from its early lows of 87.76 against the yen and 1.5944 against the euro and climbed to 88.88 and 1.5811, respectively. The aussie is seen finding resistance around 93.00 against the yen and 1.53 against the euro.