Energy stocks continued to rally, advancing nearly 2% at midday on Thursday, as oil prices surged after the US conducted fresh strikes on Iran.
Woodside Energy Group's (ASX:WDS) shares rose past 1% in recent trading.
On the flip side, the materials sector fell past 1%. Gold fell for three consecutive sessions to around around $4,080 per ounce.
Catalyst Metals' (ASX:CYL) shares were down over 2% after it entered into gold forward contracts for 30,000 ounces of gold at a fixed price of AU$6,075 per ounce, with deliveries spread evenly over 15 months at 2,000 ounces per month starting in August, representing 2% of reserves or one quarter of production.