The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index finished 14.8 points higher on Thursday at 7,865.5 , a gain of 0.19 per cent, while the broader All Ordinaries rose 13.6 points, or 0.17 per cent, to 8,083.8.
Traders pared back their expectations of an interest rate cut in November and the Australian dollar spiked just before midday, after the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported employment grew by 58,000 people in July, far more than economists were expecting.
The unemployment rate ticked up by a 10th of a percentage point to 4.2 per cent, but only because a record percentage of Australia's adult population had joined the labour market.
Betashares chief economist David Bassanese said the readout was "relatively mixed in terms of its implications for the economy and interest rates" and consistent with the Reserve Bank keeping rates on hold for longer.
Mr Bassanese isn't expecting a rate cut until February, as opposed to a cut in late 2024 some other economists predict.
The Aussie dollar jumped from 65.76 US cents to 66.15 US cents in the 15 minutes after the readout was released, a sign currency traders also saw it as supporting a delay to any domestic rate cuts.
Six of the ASX's 11 sectors finished higher and five closed lower, with the utilities sector dropping 4.1 per cent as Origin Energy plunged to a four-month low.
The electricity supplier retreated 9.4 per cent to $9.60 after announcing it had made $1.2 billion in full-year underlying profit, up 58 per cent from last year but below analyst expectations.
RBC Capital Markets analyst Gordon Ramsay said Origin hadn't managed to cut costs as much as expected and Octopus Energy, the loss-making British energy retailer and tech platform it partially owns, had posted disappointing earnings.
Telstra rose 2.1 per cent to a six-month high of $3.95 as the telecom announced its underlying profit had climbed 7.5 per cent to $2.3 billion, excluding $715 million in one-off restructuring charges.
"A consistent and disciplined execution of our strategy has delivered our third consecutive year of underlying growth," chief executive Vicki Brady said.
Cochlear dropped 7.3 per cent to a six-week low of $313 after the hearing implant company delivered an underlying full-year profit of $387 million, up 27 per cent from 2022/23 but below analyst expectations.
Nufarm sunk 9.8 per cent to a nearly four-year low of $3.96 after the agricultural chemical company downgraded guidance, citing what it believes is a temporary downturn in the industry.
The heavyweight financial and mining sectors finished in opposite directions, with the former up 0.8 per cent and the latter up 0.8 per cent.
ANZ and Westpac were the biggest gainers among the Big Four banks, with both rising 1.6 per cent, to $29.19 and $29.30, respectively. CBA rose 0.5 per cent to $134.90 and NAB added 0.4 per cent to $35.94.
Rio Tinto slid 3.6 per cent to $108.40, BHP dropped 1.0 per cent to $39.21 and Fortescue fell 2.9 per cent to $16.82.
Latin Resources soared 54.2 per cent to a six-week high of 18.5 cents after the Brazil-focused lithium developer agreed to be purchased by Pilbara Minerals, whose shares sank 3.9 per cent to $2.74.
The Australian dollar was buying 66.21 US cents, from 66.39 US cents at Wednesday's ASX close.
ON THE ASX:
* The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index finished Thursday up 14.8 points, or 0.19 per cent, at 7,865.5
* The All Ordinaries gained 13.6 points, or 0.17 per cent, to 8,083.8.
CURRENCY SNAPSHOT:
One Australian dollar buys:
* 66.21 US cents, from 66.39 US cents at Wednesday's ASX close
* 97.43 Japanese yen, from 97.54 Japanese yen
* 60.11 euro cents, from 60.32 euro cents
* 51.53 British pence, from 51.69 pence
* 110.24 NZ cents, from 110.36 NZ cents
