A broad market rally is helping lift the Australian share market at midday, with the materials and utilities sectors among the best performers.
The S&P/ASX 200 was up 0.5 per cent to 7193.1, with nine of the 11 sectors either flat or in the green. The All Ordinaries was up 0.4 per cent.
Shares in BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals were all up about 1 per cent.
Mineral Resources and Sayona Mining were among the best performers, up 6.7 per cent and 17.5 per cent, respectively. In its latest full-year report, Mineral Resources upped its total dividend by 90 per cent to $1.90.
Star Entertainment has lifted 2.2 per cent. The casino operator posted a $2.4 billion full-year loss and wiped more than $2 billion in value from its Sydney, Gold Coast and Brisbane casinos.
Bubs Australia has appointed non-executive director and board member Reg Weine as its new chief executive and managing director. Shares are up 3.9 per cent.
Lark Distilling Co is up 7.2 per cent. In its full-year earnings report, the Tasmanian whisky company swung to a loss but is pinning some of its turnaround hopes on a push into the Asian market with the appointment of sales director Alfred Goh.
Zip Co has jumped 8.2 per cent after reporting record transaction volumes and revenue for the year to June as consumers continue to use buy now, pay later even as spending across the economy softens. Zip’s payments peers, EML Payments and Tyro Payments, were also up 23.5 per cent and 14.4 per cent, on better than expected full-year results.
Cement and concrete group Adbri was down 11 per cent and won’t be paying an interim dividend to shareholders even though it generated a 3 per cent lift in net profit to $49.7 million for the six months ended June 30.
