At noon on Tuesday the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 41.5 points, or 0.59 per cent, to 7106.1. The broader All Ordinaries was up 36.7 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 7361.6.
BHP had risen 4.1 per cent to a six-week high of $40.50 reporting its second-biggest profit in company history and its biggest-ever dividend, driven by surging commodity prices and record iron ore sales.
Chief executive Mike Henry told reporters on Tuesday it had been a "record" year for BHP - record underlying earnings, record free cashflow and a record return of dividends to shareholders.
BHP alone was accounting for 27.3 points of ASX200's gains - two-thirds of it.
The mining sector as a whole was up 1.6 per cent, with Fortescue Metals adding 0.5 per cent to $19.22 and Rio Tinto subtracting 0.5 per cent to $94.77.
The big banks were mixed, with CBA the biggest mover, rising 0.9 per cent to $101.33. NAB was down 0.3 per cent, and Westpac and ANZ were both down 0.2 per cent.
Temple & Webster had soared 19.6 per cent to a four-month high of $5.34 after the online furniture retailer announced full-year revenue was up 31 per cent to $426.3 million, and upgraded its margin guidance for 2022/2023.
Tassal Group was up 5.2 per cent to $5.145 after the Tasmanian salmon farming group accepted a sweetened $1.1 billion takeover bid from a persistent Canadian suitor. Cooke is offering $5.23 a share, a 49 per cent premium to Tassal's undisturbed closing price on June 22.
Challenger was down 12.1 per cent to $6.26 after the fund manager announced its full-year net profit after tax had dropped 57 per cent to $254 million, driven by unrealised investment losses.
Challenger said that it was reviewing the status of Challenger Bank, formerly known as MyLifeMyFinance, which it acquired for $35 million in December 2020 from Catholic Super.
Seek was down 5.6 per cent to $23.015 after the online job board announced a full-year net profit after tax of $245.5 million, under consensus estimates of $250.7 million.
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