A late drop in trade following reports of shelling in Ukraine wiped almost all ASX gains and raised the prospect of sanctions against major oil producer Russia.
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The ASX was about half a per cent higher for most of Thursday but news of Ukraine government forces shelling Russian-backed rebels prompted the indices to plummet in the last 90 minutes of trade.
The price of Brent crude oil earlier climbed to $US94.50 per barrel.
European and US leaders at the start of the week warned Russian forces on the Ukraine border could invade within days.
Investsmart head of strategy Evan Lucas encouraged investors to watch early trade on European markets.
"The French and German markets will come online and give an indication of what Europe is thinking about all this," he said.
Mr Lucas said the value of the Euro could also be swayed.
On a day of mixed ASX earnings reports, most share categories still closed higher.
CSL gained five per cent to $277.00 a day after its first-half earnings and made healthcare shares best. CSL has improved 13 per cent in two days.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index closed up 11.3 points, or 0.16 per cent, to 7296.2 points.
The All Ordinaries index was higher by 1.8 points, or 0.02 per cent, to 7574.8 points.
In Australia, the jobs market has proved resilient during the Omicron coronavirus outbreak.
The unemployment rate kept to a 13-year low of 4.2 per cent in January.
Earnings reporting continued and Wesfarmers had a steep fall.
The Bunnings owner fell seven per cent to $50.81 after revealing first-half profit fell 12 per cent due to coronavirus store closures.
Telstra did not fare much better. The carrier reported a drop in operating earnings blamed on one-off costs.
The telco will pay an interim dividend of eight cents per share, in line with expectations.
Telstra was down four per cent to $3.90.
Crown Resorts, set to be taken over by a US private equity firm in a near $9 billion deal, extended interim losses.
It posted a net loss of $196 million, compared to a loss of $121 million in the previous corresponding period.
Crown was down less than one per cent at $12.47.
The boss of casino operator Star Entertainment insisted its focus on preventing criminal activity has never wavered as investors brace for bigger problems than its first-half loss.
Chief executive Matt Bekier said staff were in constant contact with those investigating whether Star has been lax in preventing money laundering.
The $74 million loss was blamed on coronavirus shutdowns.
Star was down four per cent to $3.55.
Australia's largest coal-fired power station will close much earlier than expected, and be replaced with a large-scale battery.
Power retailer Origin Energy will close the Eraring power station in Lake Macquarie, NSW, in August 2025.
Origin was up almost one per cent to $6.16.
Financial crime watchdog AUSTRAC has ordered an auditor examine whether Bell Financial Group meets anti-money laundering requirements.
AUSTRAC has asked the auditor to examine three Bell companies.
Bell was down two per cent to $1.58.
The big four banks, Benigo and Bank of Queensland were all higher by less than one per cent.
In mining, BHP and Rio Tinto each improved by one per cent.
Fortescue Metals shed three per cent to $20.50 a day after reporting lower first-half profit. Andrew Forrest's company has lost more than 10 per cent of its share price this week.
Companies due to report earnings on Friday include Magellan Financial Group, Inghams and insurer QBE.
The Australian dollar was buying 71.83 US cents at 1724 AEDT, higher than 71.55 US cents at Wednesday's close.
ON THE ASX
* The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index closed up 11.3 points, or 0.16 per cent, to 7296.2 points on Thursday.
* The All Ordinaries index was higher by 1.8 points, or 0.02 per cent, to 7574.8 points.
* At 1724 AEDT, the SPI200 futures index was down 20 points, or 0.28 per cent, at 7193 points.
CURRENCY SNAPSHOT
One Australian dollar buys:
* 71.83 US cents, from 71.55 cents on Wednesday
* 82.78 Japanese yen, from 82.83 yen
* 63.27 Euro cents, from 63.05 cents
* 52.91 British pence, from 52.85 pence
* 107.50 NZ cents, from 107.76 cents.