Australian shares again advanced at market close on Thursday, as oil prices surged.

The S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.88% or 79.20 points to close at 9,086.20, setting a new 100-day high.

Oil prices rose to their highest point since October 2025 to over $70 per barrel as media reports highlighted concern about a US-Iran military conflict.

On the domestic front, Australia's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate remained at 4.1% in January compared with December 2025, according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The underemployment rate edged higher by 0.2 percentage points to 5.9%, while the participation rate of about 67% was 0.6 percentage points lower than the record high in January 2025.

In company news, Zip Co (ASX:ZIP) reported fiscal first-half underlying earnings of AU$0.0408 per basic share after breaking even a year earlier. Revenue for the six months ended Dec. 31, 2025, was AU$658.1 million, compared with AU$509.2 million a year earlier. Shares of the company fell 34% at market close.

HUB24 (ASX:HUB) reported fiscal first-half underlying earnings of AU$0.829 per share, up from AU$0.51 a year earlier. Revenue from ordinary activities for the six months ended Dec. 31, 2025, was AU$245.9 million, compared with AU$195.2 million a year earlier. Its shares rose 14% at market close.

Lastly, Sonic Healthcare (ASX:SHL) reported fiscal first-half 2026 earnings of AU$0.531 per share, up from AU$0.492 a year earlier. Revenue for the six months ended Dec. 31, 2025, was AU$5.45 billion, compared with AU$4.67 billion a year earlier. Shares of Sonic Healthcare closed up 9%.