Australian equities struggled for direction on Wednesday, with gains in technology and energy stocks offsetting losses in financials and gold miners, while heavyweight BHP Group named Brandon Craig as its chief executive. The S&P/ASX 200 index was flat at 8,614.70 points as of 2332 GMT. The benchmark closed 0.4% higher on Tuesday. Energy sub-index gained 1.2%, helped by a rise in oil prices as renewed Iranian attacks on the United Arab Emirates heightened concerns about the worsening global supply outlook, with the conflict in its third week. Meanwhile, oil and gas producer Woodside Energy named Liz Westcott as its CEO and managing director. Shares of the energy producer rose 0.8%. Peer Santos and Beach Energy advanced 0.3% and 2.5%, respectively. Technology stocks tracked their overseas peers and were up 0.9%. Sector majors NEXTDC Ltd and Xero advanced 0.8% and 1.4%, respectively. In company news, the world’s largest listed miner BHP Group named Brandon Craig, its current president for the Americas, as its chief executive officer, succeeding Mike Henry. The company’s shares rose 0.4%. The broader mining sub-index was flat, with Rio Tinto gaining 0.1%. Equities struggled for direction in the session, a day after the Reserve Bank of Australia decided to raise the key cash rate by 25 basis points to a 10-month high of 4.1% in a narrow call. The central bank flagged that the intensifying Middle East war poses a risk to inflation. Markets now imply over a 40% probability for another rate hike in May, with a move by August to 4.35% fully priced in. Financials fell 0.3%, with three of the “Big Four” banks down between 0.1% and 1.4%. Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index rose 0.3% to 13,217.40 points.