An early rebound has faded to a modest gain for Australian shares, despite strong performances from miners and energy companies as cautious sentiment continues.
Mining stocks have dug Australia's share market out of a two-session losing streak, but the bourse remains under pressure as investor uncertainty remains.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 gained 22.4 points on Thursday, up 0.25 per cent to 8,824.4, as the broader All Ordinaries rose 22.7 points, or 0.25 per cent, to 9,093.9.
The top-200 surged almost 70 points in early trade, but handed back more than half of that as momentum waned in the afternoon.
Raw materials stocks rallied 1.4 per cent on the back of gold miners and iron ore giants, while an earnings miss from NAB dragged on the financial sector.
The Australian dollar is buying 65.13 US cents, up from 64.90 US cents on Wednesday at 5pm.
