Australian shares pushed higher by gold stocks and Woodside Petroleum

Australian shares closed slightly higher on Thursday, as firm bullion prices boosted gold stocks and Woodside Petroleum led energy names higher after reporting strong annual results.

The resources-heavy S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.2% to 7,296.20 after Wednesday's 1.1% jump.

Gold stocks jumped 2.1% as bullion prices held ground near an eight-month high touched earlier this week.

Heavyweights Northern Star Resources and Newcrest Mining climbed 4.4% and 1.5%, respectively.

Woodside Petroleum surged 4.1% as the oil and gas explorer said its annual profit more than tripled. This, along with an overnight rally in crude oil prices, helped the energy index close 0.9% higher.

Miners climbed 0.6% after a three-day slide, even as iron ore prices remained pressured due to Beijing's sustained efforts to stem any market irregularities.

South32 advanced 1.1% on robust first-half earnings, while Rio Tinto and BHP Group rose 1.2% and 1.4%, respectively.

"We might be seeing some people starting to look at them (miners) for yields going forward," said Brad Smoling, managing director of Smoling Stockbroking.

Financials advanced 0.3%, with the so-called "Big Four" banks rising between 0.2% and 0.9%.

Bucking the trend, technology stocks slipped 2.9%, following an overnight drop in the Nasdaq.

Wesfarmers plunged 7.5% in its worst session since March 2020, as COVID-19 outbreaks and supply chain disruptions hit the retail conglomerate's first-half profit.

Meanwhile, data showed Australia's unemployment rate stayed at 4.2% in January as a surge in coronavirus cases took more of a toll on hours worked than on jobs.

Smoling said the report backed the Reserve Bank of Australia's decision to hold off on raising rates for the moment.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index rose 1.1% to 12,256.82.

(Reporting by Upasana Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)