The S&P/ASX200 rose 10.8 points on Thursday, or 0.13 per cent, to 8,617.3, as the broader All Ordinaries gained 12.7 points, or 0.14 per cent, to 8,912.
"Early momentum carried the benchmark to an intraday and near two-week high of 8,649.3, but the move quickly lost steam," IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said.
"With little follow-through buying interest, the index slipped 32 points from the peak, leaving it with only modest gains this afternoon to show for its earlier efforts."
Only eight local sectors ended the day clearly higher, as energy and materials stocks fell behind, while consumer staples stocks traded close to flat.
Financials ground 0.1 per cent higher with a lumbering performance from the big four banks, as CBA, Westpac and NAB edged upward and ANZ fell behind.
Big insurers weighed on the segment, as Suncorp flagged 10,000 fresh claims from Queensland's recent storms and QBE sold off after a trading update.
Raw materials stocks slipped 0.2 per cent as major miners and lithium stocks ran into profit-taking, while rare earths plays were under continued pressure.
Gold stocks rallied despite the precious metal rolling over from hitting a two-week high on Wednesday to trade at $US4,146 (A$6,345) an ounce.
The so-called digital gold of Bitcoin might have found a bottom, nudging above $US90,000 ($A137,725) for the first time in a week as questions about its role and correlation with other assets linger in the background.
A 1.3 per cent dip in energy stocks came as oil prices eased on rising expectations of a Russia-Ukraine peace deal between Russia, and as coal producers and uranium plays sold off.
Bunnings owner Wesfarmers edged higher in a mixed day for consumer discretionaries, as Temple and Webster rebounded 4.8 per cent from Wednesday's post-trading-update bloodbath, which drained almost a third of the company's value.
Plumbing materials supplier Reece helped lift the industrials sector, gaining four per cent after flagging an on-market buyback.
Ryman Healthcare jumped 2.8 per cent after the Christchurch-based aged care provider posted positive cashflow for the half the first time in a decade, while a net profit remained elusive.
The health care sector was the third-best performing group, rising 0.7 per cent and up more than 4.3 per cent from the lows that followed CSL's sharp October sell-off.
"The ASX health care sector has been in a world of hurt," Mr Sycamore told AAP.
"But the hold of support, better price action and some of the improving reports we've seen from the likes of Ramsey and such might give traders enough reasons to dip their toe in and take advantage of the fall."
Another segment extending its recovery from recent weakness was Australian tech, which outperformed the market with a more than two per cent surge.
Droneshield was less convincing after rocketing 25 per cent higher in five sessions, before tumbling more than seven per cent on Thursday as investors opted to profit from its recent rebound.
The Australian dollar is buying 65.34 US cents, up from 65.06 on Wednesday at 5pm, as narrowing bets on a December US interest rate cut weigh on the greenback.
ON THE ASX:
* The S&P/ASX200 rose 10.8 points, or 0.13 per cent, to 8,617.3
* The broader All Ordinaries gained 12.7 points, or 0.14 per cent, to 8,912
CURRENCY SNAPSHOT:
One Australian dollar trades for:
* 65.34 US cents, from 65.06 US cents at 5pm on Wednesday
* 101.91 Japanese yen, from 101.58 Japanese yen
* 56.31 euro cents, from 56.14 euro cents
* 49.28 British pence, from 49.33 British pence
* 114.11 NZ cents, from 114.33 NZ cents
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