Australian shares bounced back on Friday on the back of a positive cue from Wall Street and gains in local mining and technology stocks.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 22.4 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 7490.7 at 1200 AEDT on Friday.
It rose as much as 0.5 percent in early trading to a fresh nine-month high of 7507.8.
The broader All Ordinaries was down 22.2 points, or 0.29 per cent, at 7710.2.
Sentiment received a boost after all three major United States stock indices advanced overnight as data showed the US economy fared better in the fourth quarter than analysts expected, buoyed by an earnings beat by electric car maker Tesla.
That helped local technology stocks climb, with Wisetech jumping almost 5.0 per cent to $58.71 and Link Market Services and Xero rising more than 1.5 per cent each.
Mining shares were bolstered by strong second-quarter shipments by iron ore exporter Fortescue Metals, with its shares up 0.9 percent to $22.69.
Bigger rivals BHP and Rio Tinto fared better, lifting more than 1.0 per cent each.
Gold producers, however, lost ground with Newcrest Mining and Regis Resources down 2.5 percent and 4.0 percent respectively.
Coal producers also went backwards, with both Whitehaven and New Hope Corp sliding almost 6.0 per cent each.
The rest of the energy sector also showed weakness, with Woodside down almost 1.0 percent.
Financial stocks are having a strong session, with each of the Big Four major banks trading between 0.5 percent and 1.0 percent higher.
Among other stocks in the news, Origin Energy shares rose 2.1 percent to $7.47 after the retailer sharply lifted the earnings forecast for its energy markets division.
Meanwhile, the Australian dollar has continued to trade at a five-month high as markets priced in higher interest rates.
It was trading at 71.29 US cents at 1200 AEDT, up from 71.03 US cents on Wednesday’s ASX close.