Australia's share market has overcome an early drop to end the week's first session higher, buoyed by dip-buying in mining stocks and a lull in resurgent oil prices.
The S&P/ASX200 rose 14.7 points on Monday, up 0.17 per cent, to 8809.9, while the broader All Ordinaries rose 20.8 points, or 0.23 per cent, to 8926.6.
Basic materials stocks rebounded 1.7 per cent higher, breaking a four-session losing streak as investors picked up beaten-down gold, copper and critical minerals producers.
However, the recovery in miners said more about how far they had fallen rather than how much the underlying demand outlook had improved, Vantage senior market analyst Hebe Chen said.
"While bargain hunting could support further short-term gains, commodity price volatility and uncertainty surrounding China's economic recovery remain significant headwinds," Ms Chen told AAP.
"Over the medium term, structural demand for copper and other critical minerals offers a stronger foundation, but investors are likely to favour miners with healthier balance sheets, disciplined capital spending and greater resilience against rising costs."
Australia's technology sector and real estate trusts also staged modest recoveries from recent sell-offs.
Conversely, defensive rallies in financials, consumer staples, health care and utilities ran into profit-taking as investors rotated into neglected segments.
Energy stocks also rallied despite oil prices easing from multi-month highs as Qatari negotiators returned to Iran in co-ordination, rekindling some hope the regional conflict would de-escalate and ease crude supply disruptions.
Australia's market had been relatively shielded from a global sell-off in artificial intelligence and chip stocks, helping it outperform several regional peers last week, Global X ETFs strategy analyst Joseph Marassa said.
"Australia’s relatively low participation in the AI boom, long seen as one of its biggest weaknesses, is quickly becoming one of its greatest assets in the sell-off," Mr Marassa said.
The focus this week will be on inflation and interest rates, with CPI figures due Wednesday before the Reserve Bank's Melbourne Cup Day decision next week.
"With the latest RBA minutes pointing to a broadly stable labour market in the near term, the focus is increasingly shifting towards the inflation side of its dual mandate," Mr Marassa said.
In company news, Challenger Ltd's board rejected a $11.80 takeover offer from TAL Daiichi Life Australia, saying it could not recommend it given the company's value and prospects.
NextDC will shake up its board and cut its chief executive's bonuses as it tries to pacify furious shareholders after a data centre project delay prompted a major sell-off last week.
The Australian dollar is buying 70.27 US cents, up from 70.12 US cents on Friday, inching higher against the greenback as bets narrow on a Reserve Bank interest rate hike.
ON THE ASX:
* The S&P/ASX200 rose 14.7 points, or 0.17 per cent, to 8809.9
* The broader All Ordinaries gained 20.8 points, or 0.23 per cent, to 8926.6
One Australian dollar trades for:
* 70.27 US cents, from 70.12 US cents on Friday
* 110.39 Japanese yen, from 110.01 Japanese yen
* 62.65 euro cents, from 62.55 euro cents
* 52.54 British pence, from 52.38 pence
* 123.28 NZ cents, from 123.20 NZ cents
