The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index finished Friday up 13.5 points, or 0.15 per cent, to 8,727.8, while the broader All Ordinaries rose 17.8 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 9,036.6.
The small gains did snap a four-day losing streak, with the ASX200 finishing the holiday-shortened week down 0.4 per cent.
Five of the ASX's 11 sectors finished higher, two closed lower and four were flat.
None had moved all that much, energy being the most active with a 0.7 per cent gain, buoyed by yellowcake producers after US-based Duke Energy filed an initial application to build a fleet of small nuclear reactors in North Carolina that could be in service by 2036.
Boss Energy advanced 6.8 per cent while Deep Yellow, Paladin Energy and Lotus Resources each climbed more than five per cent. NexGen Energy rose 2.1 per cent and Bannerman Energy added 3.3 per cent.
Elsewhere in the sector, Woodside Energy edged 0.3 per cent higher to $23.66, while Santos dipped 0.3 per cent to $6.15.
In health care, Mesoblast rose 1.8 per cent, Telix Pharmaceuticals climbed 1.4 per cent, Racura Oncology lifted 5.1 per cent, Clarity Pharma grew 9.8 per cent and Orthocell advanced 3.2 per cent.
In the mining sector, Northern Star tumbled 8.6 per cent to a nearly two-month low of $24.43 after the ASX's biggest goldminer downgraded its production guidance.
Northern Star said its operations late in the December quarter had been hit by a number of "isolated negative events" including a primary crusher failure at its Kalgoorlie processing centre that impacted production for four weeks.
Elsewhere in the sector, BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue all climbed 0.6 per cent, to $45.76, $147.69 and $22.14, respectively.
Nickel Industries rose 7.8 per cent to 90 cents after the Sydney-headquartered nickel miner said SpaceX supplier Sphere had taken a 10 per cent stake in its Huayue nickel cobalt project in Indonesia.
Droneshield, the biggest gainer in the ASX200 last year, picked up where it left off, with DRO shares rising 8.1 per cent to $3.33.
Another drone company, Elsight, rose 11 per cent to an all-time high of $3.42 after announcing it had begun delivering its Aura drone communications platform to a leading defence contractor.
All of the big four banks finished in the green, with Westpac adding 0.9 per cent to $38.95, CBA rising 0.3 per cent to $161.12, and NAB and ANZ both growing 0.2 per cent, to $42.40 and $36.42, respectively.
The Australian dollar was buying 66.94 US cents, from 66.95 US cents at 3.30pm AEDT on Wednesday.
ON THE ASX:
* The S&P/ASX200 rose 13.5 points, or 0.15 per cent, to 8,727.8.
* The broader All Ordinaries rose 17.8 points, or 0.2 per cent, to 9,036.6
CURRENCY SNAPSHOT:
One Australian dollar trades for:
* 66.94 US cents, from 66.95 US cents at 3.30pm AEDT on Wednesday
* 105.07 Japanese yen, from 104.80 Japanese yen
* 56.97 euro cents, from 57.03 euro cents
* 49.71 British pence, from 49.74 British pence
* 116.27 NZ cents, from 115.82 NZ cents
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