The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index on Thursday finished up 7.0 points, or 0.09 per cent, to 8,205.2, while the All Ordinaries gained 4.4 points, or 0.05 per cent, to 8,474.3.
Pepperstone head of research Chris Weston said that while US President Joe Biden was reportedly attempting to deter Israel from targeting Iranian bases, the geopolitical headline risk remained firmly entrenched and traders were watching closely.
An Israeli response might not come until after the Rosh Hashanah holiday ends at sundown on Friday, observers suggested.
Traders were also eyeing the US non-farm payrolls data for September, which will be released Friday night AEST and could influence the pace of interest rate cuts in the world's largest economy.
Closer to home, Australia's goods trade surplus came in virtually unchanged in August at $5.6 billion, which was close to economists' forecasts.
Six of the ASX's 11 sectors finished lower and five ended higher, but all but one did not move more than 0.4 per cent in either direction.
That outlier was the real estate, which climbed 1.7 per cent with gains across the sector.
Dexus rose 3.0 per cent, Mirvac added 2.8 per cent and Lendlease advanced 1.7 per cent.
In the heavyweight mining sector, goldminers finished lower as the price of the precious metal fell slightly to $US2,656 an ounce.
Evolution dropped 1.3 per cent, Northern Star slipped 1.0 per cent and West African Resources retreated 2.6 per cent.
The big three mining giants gained ground as iron ore changed hands at an over two-month high of $US108 a tonne following China's massive stimulus measures announced last week.
BHP rose 0.7 per cent to $45.37, Fortescue climbed 0.8 per cent to $19.98 and Rio Tinto edged 0.1 per cent higher at $126.04.
The big four banks were mixed. Westpac dropped 1.3 per cent to $30.71 after Australia's oldest bank agreed to sell its auto finance loans and lease receivables to Resimac Group for around $1.5 billion.
CBA rose 0.3 per cent to $134.61 after Australia's biggest bank announced changes to its executive leadership team, including a new chief risk officer to replace the incumbent, who is retiring.
NAB edged 0.1 per cent higher at $37, while ANZ edged 0.1 per cent lower at $30.08.
Also, Macquarie grew 0.2 per cent to $226.55.
In health care, Cyclopharm gained 7.5 per cent to $1.64 after the radiopharmaceutical company announced it had an agreement to supply its Technegas lung imaging agent to 120 Veterans Affairs hospitals in the United States.
The Australian dollar was buying 68.74 US cents, down from 68.93 US cents at Wednesday's ASX close.
ON THE ASX:
* The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index finished Thursday up 7.0 points, or 0.09 per cent, at 8,205.2
* The All Ordinaries gained 4.4 points, or 0.05 per cent, at 8,474.3.
CURRENCY SNAPSHOT:
One Australian dollar buys:
* 68.74 US cents, up from 68.93 US cents at Wednesday's ASX close
* 100.62 Japanese yen, from 99.18 yen
* 62.27 euro cents, from 62.28 euro cents
* 52.08 British pence, from 51.89 pence
* 110.05 NZ cents, from 109.60 NZ cents
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