Australian shares edge higher after shaky start

The Australian share market has overcome an early dip to notch its seventh straight session of gains.

The S&P/ASX200 rose 17.9 points, or 0.22 per cent, to 8,297.5, on Thursday as the broader All Ordinaries ground 9.6 points higher, or 0.11 per cent, to 8,529.8.

"We're up roughly 1.8 per cent over the seven sessions, so an impressive stretch of improvements, but the gains have been pretty modest over each of those days," CommBank market analyst Steven Daghlian told AAP.

"Investors and markets more broadly are probably just a bit nervous and reflective."

Financials (up 1.1 per cent) and IT stocks (up 2.1 per cent) helped lift the bourse, while energy (down 1.1 per cent), materials (down 0.9 per cent) and real estate stocks (down 1.3 per cent) were heavy.

The big four banks were all in the green after days of mixed investor interest and ex-dividend sell-offs, with ANZ leading the charge with a 1.7 per cent gain to $29, while the Commonwealth Bank rose to within a single cent of its $169.95 record.

Macquarie resumed its uptrend a day after the Australian Securities and Investments Commission alleged it had misreported millions of short sales, rising 1.2 per cent.

Insurance Australia Group rallied 5.7 per cent to $8.90 after announcing a takeover of Royal Automotive Club of WA's insurance arm.

The materials sector's three-day streak came to an end, slipping 0.9 per cent and wiping roughly half its gains for the week.

Large cap miners BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue grinded lower as iron ore prices took a breather after pushing 3.5 per cent higher on the back of easing US-China trade tensions.

Singaporean iron ore futures were down 0.3 per cent from Wednesday's ASX close to trade at $US101.35 a tonne.

Energy stocks also snapped their seven-session winning streak, but the sector is still up almost 23 per cent from early April's lows.

IT stocks outperformed the other sectors, pushing 1.8 per cent higher as Xero rallied 4.7 per cent after it posted a 30 per cent lift in net profit after tax to $NZ228 million ($A209 million).

The sector was also broadly lifted by ongoing strength in US tech stocks.

Consumer discretionary stocks rose 1.2 per cent, supported by hopes the Reserve Bank will cut rates on Tuesday, as Bunnings owner Wesfarmers rallied 2.2 per cent to $83.04.

Pokie machine maker Aristocrat Leisure rebounded 1.9 per cent after tanking almost nine per cent on Wednesday on disappointing half-year results.

Market expectations of a Reserve Bank interest rate cut fell from fully priced-in to 90 per cent after a surprising spike in employment, while unemployment held steady at 4.1 per cent.

The Australian dollar has chopped in the hours since the unemployment print to buy 64.39 US cents, down from 64.74 US cents on Wednesday at 5pm.

ON THE ASX:

* The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index finished Thursday 17.9 points higher, up 0.22 per cent to 8,297.5

* The broader All Ordinaries gained 9.6 points, or 0.11 per cent, to 8,529.8

CURRENCY SNAPSHOT:

One Australian dollar buys:

* 64.39 US cents, from 64.74 US cents on Wednesday at 5pm

* 93.78 Japanese yen, from 95.30 Japanese yen

* 57.38 Euro cents, from 57.87 Euro cents

* 48.42 British pence, from 48.68 pence

* 109.01 NZ cents, from 109.07 NZ cents