Heavyweight miner Fortescue Metals crashed as shares traded ex-dividend but did not stop a recovery in a market that may soon regain more support from central banks.
Australian shares had their best day in three weeks while US jobs figures and a Reserve Bank decision may influence whether the ASX stays near historic highs.
Investors have recovered most of their early losses after Australia's economy staved off another coronavirus recession, but some wondered for how long.
Western Australian companies Chalice Mining and Silver Lake Resources appointed females to their boards this month, ending all-male representation among the ASX 200.
Investors punished some share prices after the latest round of earnings reports but it has been what executives have left out that has likely concerned most.
Investors have stopped a five-day slide on the Australian market but one analyst says they may simply be "buying the dip" as economic growth concerns linger.
