SYDNEY, Aug. 14 (Xinhua) -- The Australian share market opened sharply higher on Wednesday as investor concerns eased after the announcement that certain tariffs on Chinese goods to the U.S. would be deferred.

At 10:45 (AEST), the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 was up 30.60 points or 0.47 percent at 6,599.10, while the broader All Ordinaries index was up 31.30 points or 0.47 percent at 6,679.40.

"The White House deferred the introduction of tariffs on (107 billion U.S. dollars) of goods overnight," CMC Markets chief market strategist Michael McCarthy said.

"Although some increases are still due on Sept. 1, the suspension of tariffs on consumer and electronic goods in the run up to Christmas saw investors pile back into shares. Oil and copper rose, and bonds and gold fell as markets rediscovered an appetite for growth assets."

Locally, healthcare stocks surged over 4 percent, mostly on the strength of biotechnology giant CSL, which reported an 11 percent increase in profits over the past financial year.

The company's shares were up over 7 percent in early morning trade.

In the financial space, Australia's big banks were mostly higher with Westpac Bank up (0.74 percent), ANZ up (0.17 percent), and the National Australia Bank up (0.47 percent), however the Commonwealth Bank was down (2.91 percent).

Mining stocks were also mostly higher with Fortescue Metals up (3.67 percent), BHP up (1.30 percent) and Rio Tinto up (3.35 percent), however goldminer Newcrest was down (2.95 percent).

The country's oil and gas producers rallied with Oil Search up (0.79 percent), Santos up (1.49 percent), and Woodside Petroleum up (1.33 percent).

Australia's largest supermarkets were mixed with Coles up (0.11 percent), and Woolworths down (0.56 percent).

Meanwhile telecommunications giant Telstra slumped (0.89 percent), the national carrier Qantas bounced (0.87 percent) and biomedical firm CSL soared (7.06 percent). Enditem

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