At the market close the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was up 77.50 points or 1.28 percent at 6,139.60, while the broader All Ordinaries index was up 79.00 points or 1.26 percent at 6,344.00.
All sectors finished higher with the exception of materials and energy, which dropped 0.20 percent and 0.60 percent respectively.
"Energy is falling most despite a jump of close to 4 percent for global oil prices in overnight trade," CommSec market analyst James Tao said.
"Biotech giant, CSL Ltd is the single biggest contributor to market gains. Another major contributor is the National Bank (NAB) which is leading its big 4 banking peers higher on the release of its FY20 results today."
In the financial space, the big banks surged with Commonwealth Bank up 1.84 percent, National Australia Bank up 3.26 percent, Westpac Bank up 2.02 percent and ANZ up 0.88 percent.
Mining stocks were mostly lower with BHP down 0.12 percent, Rio Tinto down 0.84 percent, Fortescue Metals up 0.85 percent, and gold miner Newcrest down 1.27 percent.
The country's oil and gas producers slumped with Oil Search down 1.42 percent, Santos down 0.80 percent and Woodside Petroleum down 0.65 percent.
Australia's largest supermarkets surged with Coles up 2.01 percent, and Woolworths up 1.56 percent.
Meanwhile telecommunications giant Telstra surged 1.83 percent, the national carrier Qantas slipped 0.22 percent and biomedical firm CSL soared 3.45 percent.
Latest comments