Materials stocks jumped 1.24% at midday Wednesday, leading a broad-based rally on the ASX. Australia's consumer price index rose 2.4% in the 12 months to February, following a 2.5% increase in the year to January, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, increasing the hopes of interest rate cuts from the Reserve Bank of Australia.

European Metals Holdings (ASX:EMH) reported that the European Commission declared the Cinovec lithium project in Czechia as a strategic project under the Critical Raw Materials Act, which will allow for explicit support from European institutions, including financial institutions. Its shares surged over 106% in recent trade on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the healthcare sector struggled, falling 0.63%.

Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals (ASX:CUV) said preliminary results from its second clinical study investigating its afamelanotide drug candidate as a treatment for arterial ischaemic stroke showed that it was well tolerated by all nine participants, and all treatment-related adverse events were mild, transient, and consistent with the established safety profile for the drug.