At 11:00 (AEST), the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was up 16.10 points or 0.27 percent at 6,036.60, while the broader All Ordinaries index was up 12.70 points or 0.21 percent at 6,159.50.
Australia's big banks were all firmly improving in early trade despite investors being warned to expect a significant reduction in dividends.
The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) instructed banks on Wednesday to retain at least half of their earnings when considering capital distributions, a decision likely to drastically affect shareholder payouts.
"Although the environment remains one of heightened risk, we now have a stronger sense of how Australia's economy and financial institutions are being impacted by COVID-19," APRA Chair Wayne Byres said.
"In the current environment, banks face additional challenges to their capital resilience, including the material volume of loan repayment deferrals, greater financial impact from COVID-19, and restrictions on dividends from their New Zealand operations."
The banks were leading gains in early trade, with the sector up over 1.5 percent and offsetting heavy losses in the materials sector.
The big banks jumped with Commonwealth Bank up (2.16 percent), National Australia Bank up (2.51 percent), Westpac Bank up (2.69 percent) and ANZ up (2.71 percent).
Mining stocks were mostly lower with Rio Tinto down (0.86 percent), Fortescue Metals down (0.89 percent) and BHP down (1.34 percent), however goldminer Newcrest was up (0.61 percent).
The country's oil and gas producers sank with Oil Search down (0.98 percent), Santos down (0.92 percent) and Woodside Petroleum down (0.59 percent).
Australia's largest supermarkets bounced with Coles up (1.57 percent), and Woolworths up (0.41 percent).
Meanwhile telecommunications giant Telstra rallied (0.30 percent), the national carrier Qantas lifted (0.28 percent) and biomedical firm CSL sank (0.41 percent).
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