SYDNEY — Australian shares recovered from an early sell-off on Thursday and edged into positive territory after weaker-than-expected employment data prompted investors to scale back expectations for further interest rate increases.

The S&P/ASX 200 was up 7.2 points, or 0.08%, at 8,735.1 as of 1:08 p.m. Sydney time, a sharp turnaround from the morning session.

The benchmark opened lower after a poor night on Wall Street, falling as much as 0.9% to about 8,654 in early trading. It remained in negative territory until the release of official jobs figures at 11:30 a.m., when the market began to climb.

The index closed Wednesday at 8,727.9, down 56 points, or 0.64%, dragged lower by banks, miners and industrial stocks.

Jobs data shifts the outlook

The turnaround followed the release of the Australian Bureau of Statistics' labor force figures for September, which pointed to softness in the job market, including a sharp drop in part-time employment.

The data led traders to pare bets on another interest rate increase by the Reserve Bank of Australia. Bond yields fell sharply in response, with the rate-sensitive three-year government bond yield dropping 7 basis points after the release to 4.8%.

Lower yields tend to support share prices, particularly in........

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