Materials stocks jumped past 1% at midday Thursday, after commodity prices were boosted by the US Federal Reserve cutting interest rates by 25 basis points as expected.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics said that the unemployment rate held steady at 4.3% and employment fell by 21,300 in November.

Westgold Resources (ASX:WGX) restarted mining at its Great Fingall mine in Western Australia. It expects the mine to ramp up to a steady-state production rate of about 40,000 tonnes per month by late fiscal 2027. The company expects the mine to deliver about 500,000 tonnes of high-grade ore annually from 2027.

The information technology sector struggled, shedding nearly 1%.

Megaport (ASX:MP1) completed its non-underwritten share purchase plan, raising a total of AU$18.2 million and issuing about 1.4 million new shares to eligible shareholders at AU$13.06 apiece. Proceeds will be used for general corporate and working capital purposes