(Reuters) - Australian shares advanced on Thursday supported by the resources sector thanks in part to sharp overnight gains in oil prices, while a mixed bag of corporate results lent an air of caution to the trading session.
The S&P/ASX 200 index <.AXJO> was up 0.3% or 20.5 points to 6,693.6, having ended little changed Wednesday.
Energy stocks <.AXEJ> were the among the best performers on the benchmark, rising 1.5% to its highest level since Sept. 23.
Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets, said a big draw-down overnight on U.S. oil inventories was "a direct contradiction of the narrative we've seen of slowing growth in the U.S.".
"Australia is a particular beneficiary because of its higher resources exposure," he added.
Oil prices dipped on profit-taking on Thursday, after posting a 2.5% rise in the previous session following the U.S. inventories data. [O/R]
Index heavyweight Woodside Petroleum <WPL.AX> added 2.4% and was the best performer on the energy sub-index, while peer Santos Ltd <STO.AX> gained 2.3%.
Major miners BHP Group <BHP.AX> and Rio Tinto Ltd <RIO.AX> were up about 1% and 0.7%, buoying the metals & mining sub-index <.AXMM>.
Iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group <FMG.AX> ended up 0.5% at a more than 1-week high, after it reported a rise in first-quarter shipments.
Electronics retailer JB Hi-Fi Ltd <JBH.AX> jumped 6.8% to a record high, and was the top gainer on the ASX 200 after posting higher comparable sales growth in July-September.
Qantas Airways <QAN.AX> dropped 3.7% after it flagged sluggish domestic growth and a higher annual fuel bill.
Gold miner Newcrest Mining Ltd <NCM.AX> dropped 1.6% after its quarterly output fell. The company also flagged delays at a planned project in Papua New Guinea.
New Zealand shares was marginally lower, as utilities took a breather from the previous session's sharp sell-offs.
The benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index <.NZ50> was down 0.2% or 22.27 points at 10,831.52, a day after it slumped more than 2% and recorded its worst session in more than a year.
Major energy retailers had plunged on Wednesday after Rio Tinto flagged plans to shut its aluminium smelter, the largest electricity consumer in New Zealand.
Mercury NZ <MCY.NZ> ended up 0.5%, while Meridian Energy <MEL.NZ> and Contact Energy <CEN.NZ> closed flat.
(Reporting by Niyati Shetty in Bengaluru; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
