Materials stocks advanced 1% at midday Wednesday after higher inflation data dashed hopes of policy rate cuts.

Australia's consumer price index rose 1.3% in the September quarter and 3.2% annually, while the monthly CPI increased 3.5% in the 12 months to September, reported the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). This is the largest quarterly increase since March 2023, with electricity costs rising 9% as the largest contributor.

Almonty Industries (ASX:AII), whose shares were up over 11%, entered into a binding share purchase transaction with US Tungsten, a US-based minerals explorer, to acquire an exclusive right to explore, develop, and mine the Gentung Browns Lake tungsten project in Montana for about $9.8 million in total.

Meanwhile, the health care sector continued to decline, shedding 2%.

Orthocell (ASX:OCC) appointed MontsMed as the exclusive distributor of its Remplir nerve repair product in Hong Kong. Approval in Hong Kong will provide the firm a pathway to market access in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area via the Regulatory Innovation and Development of Pharmaceutical and Medical Device work plan.