At 10:30 (AEST), the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was up 34.40 points or 0.56 percent at 6,213.60, while the broader All Ordinaries index was up 33.30 points or 0.52 percent at 6,420.70.
Both energy and materials were firmly higher in early trade, recovering losses from earlier in the week, while financials provided more modest support.
Tech sank by around half a percent but was still the best performing sector from the previous five sessions, while consumer stocks and healthcare also fell.
Prior to markets opening, Reserve Bank of Australia Governor, Philip Lowe delivered a speech outlining Australia’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic which he described as underway, but uncertain.
“Thanks to this effort and the progress on the health front, a recovery is now under way and we can look forward to this continuing.” Lowe said.
“This is good news, but the shape and nature of that recovery remains highly uncertain. The single most important influence on the recovery is how successful we are in containing the virus.”
In the financial space, the big banks were mostly higher with Commonwealth Bank up (0.07 percent), Westpac Bank up (0.16 percent) and National Australia Bank up (0.26 percent), however ANZ was down (0.05 percent).
Mining stocks rallied with Rio Tinto up (1.98 percent), Fortescue Metals up (1.43 percent), goldminer Newcrest up (0.38 percent) and BHP up (3.14 percent).
The country’s oil and gas producers surged with Oil Search up (1.06 percent), Santos up (1.69 percent) and Woodside Petroleum up (0.77 percent).
Australia’s largest supermarkets varied with Coles down (0.44 percent), and Woolworths up (0.26 percent).
Meanwhile telecommunications giant Telstra sank (0.35 percent), the national carrier Qantas took off (0.95 percent) and biomedical firm CSL edged higher (0.01 percent).
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