Australia's sharemarket has pared early losses to edge higher, as a strong energy sector and a mining rebound kept the market above water.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 closed 8.7 points higher on Thursday, up 0.10 per cent, to 9,038.7, as the broader All Ordinaries gained 13.6 points, or 0.15 per cent, to 9,334.7.
Energy stocks rallied more than 3 per cent after US sanctions on Russian oil prices lit a match under crude prices, and as a Woodside gas deal provided a springboard for the segment's biggest company.
Gold miners clawed some of the previous session's losses, after the precious metal's steep run hit a brick wall on Tuesday night, prompting its sharpest single-day drop since 2013.
