Australian shares rose on Wednesday's close as Wall Street was lifted by a 16-month high US consumer confidence index in November.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.6%, or 47.3 points to close at 8,406.7.

The second straight monthly rise of consumer confidence reported by the US Conference Board is likely due to the outcome of the elections, Reuters reported.

The Board reported a consumer confidence increase to 111.7 in November. Economists polled by Reuters expected the index to increase to 111.3 from the previous 108.7.

On the domestic front, Australia's annual inflation is still expected to come in at 3.4% in the fourth quarter despite an acceleration in the trimmed mean inflation for October, ANZ Research analysts said. Australia's monthly consumer price index indicator held steady at 2.1% in the 12 months to October.

Meanwhile, Australia's total construction work done rose 1.6% to AU$73.34 billion in the September quarter, a leap from a 0.1% uptick in the prior three-month period, according to a report from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

In corporate news, Harvey Norman Holdings (ASX:HVN) reported a 1.7% increase in total sales revenue for the four months to Oct. 31 compared with the same period a year earlier. The company's shares rose nearly 3% at market close.

QBE Insurance Group's (ASX:QBE) gross written premiums grew 2% year on year in the nine months to Sept. 30 on both a reported and constant currency basis. The company's shares rose past 1% at market close.

HMC Capital (ASX:HMC) expects operating earnings per share (EPS) to reach AU$0.70 in fiscal 2025 from AU$0.37 a year earlier. The company's shares rose almost 2% at market close after hitting an all-time high earlier in the day.