Utilities stocks continued a strong streak, advancing past 1.1% at midday Tuesday, as investors switched to defensive stocks.

De.mem (ASX:DEM) signed a nonexclusive strategic distribution agreement for its standardized filtration systems with Firmbase Singapore, targeting China, Indonesia, and Japan.

Meanwhile, healthcare fell more than 1.5%, the only sector in the red, dragged down by index heavyweight CSL (ASX:CSL), which fell over 2%.

CSL's revenue for the six months ended Dec. 31, 2024, was $8.48 billion, up from $8.05 billion in the same period a year earlier. Analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha expected $8.54 billion.