ASX Today Live News & Analysis

Australia's share market has ended the session slightly higher after surging energy stocks and miners countered banking sector weakness.

The S&P/ASX200 rose 12.1 points on Wednesday, up 0.14 per cent, to 8,820.6 as the broader All Ordinaries gained 13.3 points, or 0.15 per cent, to 9,151.8.

Oil prices surged to 11-week highs amid ongoing instability in Iran and continued Russian attacks in Ukraine, helping energy stocks lead seven other sectors higher.

"You look at what's done well today, and no surprises, the energy sector's leading the charge, and with the way crude oil has held that support it looks like there could be more upside," IG market analyst Tony Sycamore told AAP.

Oil and gas giants Woodside and Santos rocketed more than 2.6 per cent higher, and coal producers and uranium stocks also pushed higher.

"But the big stand-out is the materials sector, having another good day and another fresh record high there, and now up an unbelievable 6.2 per cent in the first two weeks of January," Mr Sycamore said.

Financials slipped 0.7 per cent as the big four banks lost ground, with signs of liquidity rotation into the red-hot materials stocks, which gained 0.9 per cent and reset their segment record for a second straight session.

Commonwealth Bank shares were the heaviest of the banks, slipping 1.3 per cent to $152.88, while investment giant Macquarie Group helped support the segment with a 0.8 per cent boost.

BHP continued to edge towards topping CBA as Australia's biggest company: its shares were up 1.1 per cent to $48.12 and the mining giant's market cap came within $11 billion of CommBank's $255 billion valuation.

Rio Tinto and Fortescue also edged higher as iron ore futures hung on to recent gains despite weakening steel demand, and as copper prices hovered near recent record highs.

Goldminers shrugged off some early wobbles to end the session broadly stronger, as the precious metal broke through new highs of $US4,640 an ounce shortly after the ASX close.

Critical minerals producers had a mixed day, with lithium producer Liontown down 1.4 per cent and PLS trading flat, while Nickel Industries fell 2.7 per cent and Lynas Rare Earths charged more than three per cent higher.

Metallurgical coal producer Stanmore was the top-200's best performer, soaring more than 12 per cent, supported by strong demand for industrial metals.

Bluescope Steel shares grinded 0.3 per cent lower to $29.76, despite flagging plans to hand back $438 million in excess cash to shareholders in a special dividend.

Consumer discretionary stocks traded 0.8 per cent higher as Temple & Webster bounced more than three per cent, but the e-commerce player's value is still down almost 50 per cent since October after revenue growth undershot expectations.

Cryptocurrency bitcoin jumped to its highest level in two months on a favourable US interest rate and regulatory outlook for 2026, the digital currency trading at $US95,200.

The Australian dollar was buying 66.95 US cents, down from 67.09 US cents on Tuesday at 5pm AEDT.

ON THE ASX:

The S&P/ASX200 rose 12.1 points, or 0.14 per cent, to 8,820.6

The broader All Ordinaries rose by 13.3 points, or 0.15 per cent, to 9,151.8

The NZX 50 added 101.66 points (0.74%) to 13,757.71 while the Nikkei gained 792.07 points (1.46%) at the time of writing, to be closed at 54,341.23