Australian shares are poised to rise on Wednesday, tracking steady oil prices that were little changed but set for their steepest monthly and quarterly losses since early 2020, as investors weighed US-Iran talks in Doha and fragile ceasefire dynamics.

Overnight, the S&P 500, the Nasdaq Composite, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.8%, 1.5%, and 0.3%, respectively.

In the macroeconomy, Australian manufacturing activity improved modestly in June, with employment and inventories rising even as output and new orders continued to contract amid elevated costs, supply-chain delays, and uncertainty driven by Middle East tensions, according to a survey by S&P Global published Wednesday.

Australian housing market worsened in June, recording the largest month-on-month decline in home values since Dec. 2022, as pessimistic sentiment grew amid rising cost-of-living pressures, Cotality said Wednesday.

In corporate news, South32 (ASX:S32) struck a deal to sell its aluminum assets to Alcoa (ASX:AAI) for an implied enterprise value of as much as $5.6 billion.

Coles Group's (ASX:COL) proposed acquisition of a leasehold for a new supermarket and liquor site in the Kalgoorlie-Boulder area of Western Australia would materially harm competition in the retail groceries space, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said Wednesday following a phase two review.

Australia's benchmark index fell 0.5% or 44.7 points to close at 8,778.70 on Tuesday.