* Energy shares rise to over 1-mth closing high
* JB Hi-Fi at record high on upbeat results (Updates to close)
Oct 24 (Reuters) - Australian shares advanced on Thursday supported by the resources sector thanks in part to sharp overnight gains in oil prices, while a mixed bag of corporate results lent an air of caution to the trading session.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO was up 0.3% or 20.5 points to 6,693.6, having ended little changed Wednesday.
Energy stocks .AXEJ were the among the best performers on the benchmark, rising 1.5% to its highest level since Sept. 23.
Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets, said a big draw-down overnight on U.S. oil inventories was "a direct contradiction of the narrative we've seen of slowing growth in the U.S.".
"Australia is a particular beneficiary because of its higher resources exposure," he added.
Oil prices dipped on profit-taking on Thursday, after posting a 2.5% rise in the previous session following the U.S. inventories data. O/R
Index heavyweight Woodside Petroleum WPL.AX added 2.4% and was the best performer on the energy sub-index, while peer Santos Ltd STO.AX gained 2.3%.
Major miners BHP Group BHP.AX and Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) Ltd RIO.AX were up about 1% and 0.7%, buoying the metals & mining sub-index .AXMM .
Iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group FMG.AX ended up 0.5% at a more than 1-week high, after it reported a rise in first-quarter shipments. retailer JB Hi-Fi Ltd JBH.AX jumped 6.8% to a record high, and was the top gainer on the ASX 200 after posting higher comparable sales growth in July-September. Airways QAN.AX dropped 3.7% after it flagged sluggish domestic growth and a higher annual fuel bill. miner Newcrest Mining Ltd NCM.AX dropped 1.6% after its quarterly output fell. The company also flagged delays at a planned project in Papua New Guinea. Zealand shares was marginally lower, as utilities took a breather from the previous session's sharp sell-offs.
The benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 was down 0.2% or 22.27 points at 10,831.52, a day after it slumped more than 2% and recorded its worst session in more than a year.
Major energy retailers had plunged on Wednesday after Rio Tinto flagged plans to shut its aluminium smelter, the largest electricity consumer in New Zealand.
Mercury NZ MCY.NZ ended up 0.5%, while Meridian Energy MEL.NZ and Contact Energy CEN.NZ closed flat.