A rebound in employment and fresh milestones for uranium and iron ore prices helped the share market kick higher today.
The ASX 200 bounced 33 points or 0.46% off a two-and-a-half week low.
The materials sector led with a rise of nearly 1% as iron ore prices set a six-month high in Singapore and uranium prices traded at a level last seen in 2011. Paladin Energy, Champion Iron and Fortescue Metals were among the index's best performers, alongside BrainChip, Sayona Mining and Coronado.
Fears of a hard landing for the economy were soothed by news the economy added 64,900 jobs last month, three times as many as economists expected. The recovery reversed a loss of 14,600 positions in July. The jobless rate held steady at 3.7%.
Also encouraging buyers today was a solid rise in US equity futures following last night's mixed inflation data. S&P 500 futures were ahead 0.3% by this afternoon's Australian close.
