Afternoon Update: Energy soars, materials slumps

The ASX had risen 0.04 per cent by 2.50pm AEST.

The best-performing sector was Energy, up 2.19 per cent, while the worst-performing sector was Materials, down 1.29 per cent.

In company related news, among large-cap stocks, Whitehaven Coal (ASX:WHC) saw the highest gain, rising 3.21 per cent to $7.24, while Allkem (ASX:AKE) experienced the biggest decline, down 6.11 per cent to $14.98.

Mining Giant South32 (ASX:S32) has reduced the value of its proposed Hermosa project in the United States by $1.9 billion, due to inflation, operational issues, and COVID-19 related delays affecting the zinc-lead-silver resource's development in Arizona's Patagonia Mountains.

And Core Lithium's (ASX:CXO) shares have dropped by over 15 per cent so far following the company's announcement of production guidance that fell below what was initially indicated in its feasibility studies.

In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei gained 1.29 per cent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 1.40 per cent, and China's Shanghai Composite lost 0.22 per cent. Additionally, gold was trading at US$1,961.10 per ounce, light crude was trading at US$76.95 per barrel, and one Australian dollar was worth 67.30 US cents.
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Source: Finance News Network