Australian share prices closed 1.1 percent higher on Monday as investors bought resource and banking stocks, building on gains made Friday after a more positive performance on Wall Street, dealers said.
At the same time, they said trade was subdued due to public holidays Monday in the United States and Britain, with investors reluctant to take aggressive positions until they got a clear offshore lead given recent sharp losses.
The benchmark SP/ASX 200 index rose 55.8 points to 5,109.5 while the broader All Ordinaries Index added 55.2 points or 1.10 percent to 5,069.9. Turnover was 868.1 million shares worth 2.4 billion dollars (1.8 billion US), with gains leading falls 682 to 400 and 354 stocks unchanged.
Dealers said the resources sector was buoyed by a jump in metal prices on Friday.
Global miner BHP Billiton gained additional support after it announced Friday that it had won a 19 percent increase for iron ore contract prices from Japanese and South Korean steel mills.
BHP Billiton 0.92 dollars or 3.22 percent to 29.47 dollars while Rio Tinto added 1.83 or 2.28 percent to 82.24.
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