Rallies in AGL Energy and AMP following earnings reports helped offset losses in miners and push the local sharemarket into the black at the close.
Sentiment see-sawed during the session but eventually turned positive late in the afternoon, pushing the benchmark S&P;/ASX 200 Index and the broader All Ordinaries Index each 0.2 per cent higher, to 5664.6 points and 5717.7 points, respectively.
Earnings season continued to give investors insight into company performance. "One of the early themes from the reporting season seems to be that low expectations have been baked in to share prices, and when results are not as bad as anticipated, we are seeing buyers enter," said Romano Sala Tenna, portfolio manager at Katana Asset Management.
"Given the 'brutality' of the past quarter, many investors are not prepared to roll the dice ahead of a company reporting; preferring to wait for the results before buying or adding."
Shares in AMP bumped up 3.9 per cent, despite the company announcing a bottom line loss for the year to December of $344 million, down from a profit of $972 million in 2015. But investors were heartened by a $500 million share buyback.
AGL enjoyed a 4.4 per cent lift after it reported revenue rose 7.7 per cent and net profit after tax was $325 million, up from a $449 million loss in 2016.
And Suncorp reported a net profit after tax of $537 million for the six months ended December 31, up from $530 million a year earlier, after top-line growth of 4.3 per cent. Shares closed 0.9 per cent higher.
Investors scooped up profits in the big resource giants, with BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto both sinking 1.2 per cent and 0.7 per cent respectively, the latter falling despite a strong full-year result late on Wednesday. And Fortescue investors shrugged off another rise in Chinese iron ore futures, letting the stock drop 3.6 per cent.
The big four banks were a mixed bag, with only National Australia Bank managing to eke out any gains.
In other equities news, Paragon Care shares plunged 11.7 per cent after it's first-half results disappointed, given earnings per share declined around 4 per cent due to the large number of shares that were issued last year to fund acquisitions.
Premier Investments took a breather after a very strong Wednesday after the company's positive update. The stock closed down 2.2 per cent.
Stock watch: Carsales.com
Analysts revved up on Carsales.com after the company's outgoing CEO, Greg Roebuck, unveiled a 5 per cent lift in underlying earnings on Wednesday. "Same reliable model, more horsepower," said Citi in an upbeat note reflective of others. Trading at around 20 times its 2018 earnings, Carsales isn't going cheap, but most are optimistic of its ability to maintain earnings in the face of challenges. Some of those with 'buy' ratings did raise some possible drag: there are fears competition from global players could put a hand-break on growth, while others cited rising costs at the digital classifieds company. The company's shares slid 0.2 per cent to $10.81 on Thursday.
Donald Trump
The ASX jumped 20 points, following US futures which trimmed losses, minutes after wires reported the US President had sent a letter to China's President Xi Jinping mentioning his hopes of a "constructive relationship" between the two countries, and wishing the Chinese people a prosperous Year of the Rooster. It was the first communication from Mr Trump directly to Mr Xi since the US President's January 20 inauguration. Mr Trump has yet to call his Chinese counterpart, and has repeatedly accused China of manipulating its currency to the the US's disadvantage.
Home sales
Sales of new homes in edged higher in December, a solid result given it built upon a sharp rebound the month before. The Housing Industry Association said its survey of large-volume builders showed new home sales rose a seasonally adjusted 0.2 per cent in December from November. Sales of houses dipped 1.6 per cent, while apartment sales climbed 6.4 per cent. "The strong finish to 2016 for new home sales admittedly follows a very weak month in October," said HIA chief economist Harley Dale. "Obviously it is better that new home sales bounced back rather than kept falling.
Indonesian rating
Indonesia's rupiah and its main stock index edged up, after Moody's upped its credit outlook on Australia's northern neighbour from "stable" to "positive". The ratings agency praised the country's progress on reforms and its efforts to keep finances under control despite falling prices for its main commodity exports. "Indonesia's greatly improved resilience was put to the test in Q4 2016 amid the global bond selloff and the Trump tantrum," said ANZ head of Asian research Khoon Goh. "Outflows from the Indonesian bond market were short-lived, and inflows resumed in December-January"
Gold
Gold was the biggest income driver for Australia in 2016, surpassing even iron ore, CommSec noted on Thursday. Gold exports rose by 30 per cent in 2016, adding $4.4 billion to export receipts, while iron ore exports rose by 8.4 per cent over the year, adding $4.1 billion to Australia's foreign revenue. This has fed through to Australia's gold miners - the All Ordinaries gold index has risen more than 40 per cent from recent lows in mid-December. The precious metal's spot price was near three-month highs on Thursday, but the gold index ended flat