By Aamir Khalid
Australian shares ended broadly flat on Thursday, with strength in gold and bank stocks countering investor caution ahead of the crucial U.S. payrolls report, while Northern Star jumped after naming a new CEO.
The S&P/ASX 200 index ASX:XJO closed 1.6 points higher at 8,724.50 points, after falling as much as 0.7% earlier in the session.
The benchmark had ended down 0.6% on Wednesday.
With U.S. inflation remaining sticky since the war in the Middle East caused energy prices to spike, the U.S. jobs data, due on Thursday, could shape expectations for the Federal Reserve's policy path and influence the global interest rate outlook.
"A strong upside surprise in the jobs numbers could reinforce expectations of higher-for-longer U.S. rates ...This uncertainty appears to be keeping local investors on the sidelines for now," said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade.
Fed Chair Kevin Warsh on Wednesday warned he would "disappoint" those expecting looser monetary policy.
"For Australia, this reinforces the higher-for-longer interest rate environment worldwide, which could weigh on risk sentiment and pressure rate-sensitive sectors such as property and consumer discretionary," said Waterer.
On the bourse, miners ASX:XMM stayed flat, with diversified miner South32 ASX:S32 falling 2.8% while index giant Rio Tinto ASX:RIO gained 0.3%.
Banks ASX:XFJ jumped 1.2% after declining 1.7% on Wednesday, to hit their best single-day gain since June 12. All the "Big Four" banks traded in the green.
Gold stocks ASX:XGD gained 3.4%. Gold miner Northern Star Resources ASX:NST rose 5.5%, its biggest jump in two weeks, after it tapped Glencore LSE:GLEN executive Suresh Vadnagra as its next CEO.
Energy stocks ASX:XEJ snapped a four-day winning streak to fall 0.7%, as oil prices dropped about 1% on Thursday.
Tech stocks slipped 1.1%, while health shares gained 0.3%.
Across the Tasman Sea, the New Zealand benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index NZX:NZ50G fell 0.2% to 13,582.19.