Banks rally late, ASX closes higher

"We have breached some key technical levels that have opened up the index for further drawbacks and challenged investor confidence," said Saxo Capital Markets market strategist Eleanor Creagh. "The market will remain volatile, with sluggish optimism, until we have some clarity about the results of President Xi's and President Trump's conference on the sidelines of the G20 summit."

The big banks were the biggest weight of the index for most of the day, although their market rally saw them close only slightly lower. The Commonwealth Bank led the decline, closing 0.5 percent lower at $ 68.86, Westpac declined 0.4 percent to $ 25.34, NAB dropped 0.2 percent to $ 23.88, and ANZ closed at $ 25.39.

The main stocks of hardware also weighed the market on Thursday. BHP Billiton declined 0.2 percent to $ 32.04, Rio Tinto closed 0.8 percent lower at $ 77.84, and South32 dropped 0.6 percent to $ 3.33.

GrainCorp's shares fell 1.4 percent to $ 7.80 after grain handler warned that hard times were still ahead. On Thursday, the company said net earnings after taxes fell to $ 71 million, nearly 44% over the previous year.

The Aveo group fell for a second day after Macquarie and Morgans downgraded their recommendations for the stock. The retirees refused to provide guidance on earnings at its shareholders' annual meeting on Wednesday despite the fact that housing markets were negative. Its shares closed down 4.4% to $ 1.63.

The energy sector recovered from the slightly higher oil price. WorleyParsons rose 4.3% to $ 14.79, Santos moved 2.5% to $ 6.21 and Beach Energy closed 3.7% higher at $ 1.68.

Appen shares rose 11.6% to $ 12.46 after the release of the news release for the last few trading hours. The company said its total earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and depreciation would be $ 62 million to $ 65 million, from its previous guidance of $ 54 million to $ 59 million. Artificial Intelligence companies said the improved forecast is due to a sharp increase in monthly earnings.

G8 education stocks closed 11.6% higher at $ 2.69, as the childcare center operator said it planned to land up to eight childcare centers at a loss. The company also noted an improved outlook, with better occupancy rates on the outskirts of Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.