At noon AEST on Monday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 54.8 points, or 0.71 per cent, to 7,782.4, while the broader All Ordinaries had gained 53.7 points, or 0.67 per cent, to 7,052.9.
The gains came after a 0.7 per cent rise for the S&P500 on Friday. With US markets closed Monday for Memorial Day, this week will be light on macroeconomic data releases.
Every sector except utilities was higher at midday, with property the biggest gainer, up 1.4 per cent, buoyed by Lendlease.
The property giant jumped 9.4 per cent to a nearly four-week high of $6.445 after announcing it would divest its international operations, return capital to shareholders and concentrate on the Australian market.
Lendlease chairman Michael Ullmer said the company recognised the poor performance of its securities - which have lost value every year since 2019 - and was positioning Lendlease for success by focusing on its core strengths and competitive advantages.
In the heavyweight mining sector, BHP had gained 1.3 per cent while Fortescue had dipped 0.4 per cent and Rio Tinto had slid 0.3 per cent.
All of the Big Four banks were higher, with CBA and ANZ up 1.0 per cent, NAB adding 0.8 per cent and Westpac climbing 0.7 per cent.
Neuren Pharmaceuticals had gained 10 per cent to 22.8c after announcing that nine out of 11 children with the neurodevelopmental disorder Pitt Hopkins syndrome had shown signs of improvement after being given Neuren's oral treatment in a phase 2 clinical trial.
Healius was up 0.2 per cent after the pathology chain announced it was exploring selling its diagnostic imaging division, Lumus Imaging.
The Australian dollar was buying 66.33 US cents, from 66.00 US cents at Friday's ASX close.
15°C