Australian market up in thin trading

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index gained 35.1 points, or 0.75 per cent, to 4739.3, while the broader All Ordinaries added 31.7 points, or 0.67 per cent, at 4756.1. On the Sydney Futures Exchange, the March share price index futures contract was 39 points higher at 4727 on a volume of 15,374 contracts.

CMC Markets analyst David Taylor said the market held up reasonably well given the sheer lack of activity.

It was also the last full day of trading before today's truncated day session and the four-day Christmas holiday break.

"A solid lead from Wall St kept things buoyant," Taylor said. "Newcrest Mining performed well despite a fall in the gold price; mining operations in WA that were meant to have been impacted by cyclone Laurence weren't.

"We saw money flowing into a good cross-section of the market. There were gains in healthcare and consumer staples as well as the energy, finance and materials sector."

Major miner BHP Billiton gained A27c to A$41.92 and Rio Tinto was up A53c to A$73.28.

- AAP