Australian shares lift as banks rebound and Coles jumps

A rebound in banking stocks has reawakened Australia's share market from its recent slumber, putting the beaten-down financials sector on track for its second daily gain in eight sessions.

The S&P/ASX200 rose 60 points on Tuesday, up 0.66 per cent, to 9,163.1, as the broader All Ordinaries gained 53.2 points, or 0.57 per cent, to 9,370.

The local bourse shrugged off a weak session for US tech stocks, which was partially counterbalanced by a rise in financial stocks.

The latter part of the move was echoed in the ASX session, with insurers and banks rebounding from recent sell-downs, with no clear catalyst except an expected dip in headline inflation figures due on Wednesday morning.

Investors will also be poring over Reserve Bank meeting minutes released later on Tuesday.

The resources sector continued to soar to new heights alongside BHP, as copper held onto its recent gains.

Gold's surge has been losing momentum after rallying 15 per cent in three weeks, with the precious metal now trading hands at $US4,664 ($A6,519) an ounce.

The energy sector was trading roughly flat by midday, with oil prices holding on to Monday's losses as investors awaited Iran's response from bolstered US sanctions.

Woodside shares handed back an early advance to trade 0.5 per cent lower at $33.31 per share, despite soaring oil and gas prices delivering a seven per cent lift in underlying first-half profit.

Refinery operator Viva Energy gained 0.3 per cent after handing down its results for the half, after its earnings ballooned by more than 150 per cent on the equivalent six months in 2025.

At a sector level, IT stocks, health care and utilities clocked gains of more than one per cent.

Consumer staples was close behind with a 0.8 per cent advance, boosted by a two per cent jump in Coles shares to $23.10 after its full-year $2.3 billion operating profit beat expectations.

Elsewhere in earnings, ARB shares have rocketed almost 18 per cent higher after looking beyond a 5.2 per cent profit slump to hold its dividend steady.

Early education provider G8 Education shares rallied despite the company posting a $38.8 million statutory first-half loss, as revenue shrunk by more than 11 per cent to $413.6 million.