Australian shares rose 0.2 percent on Thursday, supported by an overnight rise on Wall Street and higher metal prices, but mixed local jobs data and weaker-than-expected Chinese trade figures capped gains. The S&P/ASX 200 index reversed an earlier dip to finish 11.9 points higher at 5,464.4. The benchmark lost 1.1 percent on Wednesday. New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index inched 0.1 percent higher or 5.3 points to finish the session at 5,128.0.
Australian employment rose a solid 15,900 in June to just beat forecasts but that did not prevent the unemployment rate from hitting a four-month high of 6 percent as more people went looking for work. "There's probably a bit of disappointment this morning in terms of market performance. We were looking to recoup some of yesterday's losses but that just hasn't materialised at this stage," said Ben Le Brun, a market analyst at OptionsXpress.
In the resources sector, big-name miners BHP Billiton Ltd and Rio Tinto Ltd added 0.5 percent and 0.7 percent respectively. Gold miner Newcrest Mining Ltd jumped 3.5 percent to a four-month high of A$11.23. Copper prices hovered near their highest in almost five months while gold rose to hold above $1,320 an ounce.
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