The ASX has seen a recovery in the afternoon, building on its earlier gains, as energy stocks managed to recover somewhat after a sharp drop in oil prices overnight.
The S&P/ASX 200 is trading 0.51 per cent higher at 6,925.50 in a volatile trading session. This rebound followed three consecutive sessions of losses, with the index hitting its lowest level in 11 months on Wednesday.
The SPI futures are up 37 points.
The best-performing sector is REITs, up 1.98 per cent. The worst-performing sector is Energy, down 0.89 per cent.
The best-performing large cap is Northern Star Resources (ASX:NST), trading 4.22 per cent higher at $10.61. It is followed by shares in NEXTDC (ASX:NXT) and Mercury NZ (ASX:MCY).
The worst-performing large cap is IGO (ASX:IGO), trading 3.24 per cent lower at $11.66. It is followed by shares in Aristocrat Leisure (ASX:ALL) and Ampol (ASX:ALD).
Asian markets
Japan's Nikkei has gained 1.18 per cent.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng has gained 0.35 per cent.
China's Shanghai Composite has gained 1.35 per cent.
Commodities and the dollar
Gold is trading at US$1,840.80 an ounce.
Light crude is trading $0.41 higher at US$84.63 a barrel.
One Australian dollar is buying 63.25 US cents.
