The S&P/ASX200 rose 78.5 points on Monday, up 0.91 per cent, to 8,699.9, as the broader All Ordinaries advanced 82.4 points, or 0.92 per cent, to 9,000.7.
"With Wall Street closing firmly on Friday night and the rally spreading across Asia, today's gains signal that the traditional Santa Claus rally has finally kicked in," IG market analyst Tony Sycamore said.
"The later start this year supports the view that the seasonal uplift is shifting - beginning later in December and extending deeper into January."
Almost all 11 sectors ended the day higher, led by a 2.3 per cent surge in raw materials stocks after gold prices hit a new record peak of $US4,397 ($A6,636) an ounce, buoyed by hopes of future US interest rate cuts and geopolitical worries.
The ASX gold sub-sector jumped 4.1 per cent on Monday, while silver and copper also hit new highs.
Iron ore giants BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue performed well as ore futures hovered about $US107 a tonne, while rare earths and battery minerals producers also lifted.
Lithium producer Liontown rallied 4.6 per cent to $1.53 after completing open-pit operations at its Kathleen Valley project to transition to 100 per cent underground mining.
All 11 local sectors ended the day higher, led by raw materials and a 1.5 per cent rebound in energy stocks after a heavy sell-off the week before.
Oil prices edged higher as the United States moved to intercept a third Venezuelan oil tanker in less than two weeks, supporting local names such as Santos and Woodside.
Coal miners were mixed, and uranium stocks were charging higher.
The heavyweight financials sector lumbered 0.3 per cent higher, tracking with gains in CBA and ANZ shares as NAB and Westpac traded flat.
Consumer discretionary stocks crept upward after Nick Scali shares rallied almost 10 per cent after the furniture retailer boosted profit guidance.
Health care stocks continued to claw back ground after falling to multi-year lows last week, up 0.6 per cent on Monday.
Aged care operator Regis Healthcare slipped 1.7 per cent after chief executive Linda Mellors resigned after six years at the helm, and is headed for an unrelated sector.
Telix Pharmaceuticals rose 0.7 per cent after reporting positive studies and regulatory steps taken with multiple products in China and the US.
Mayne Pharma tumbled 1.6 per cent, after a trading update revealed a 5.5 per cent reduction in revenues in the first five months of the 2026 financial year to $165 million.Â
IT stocks underperformed the broader market, up 0.2 per cent, as data centre player NextDC rallied more than six per cent after revealing a series of customer contract wins.
In other company news, Droneshield shares surged more than seven per cent higher following the set-up of mandatory minimum shareholdings for upper management and the board, after a sudden leadership sell-off prompted panic selling in November.
The Australian dollar is buying 66.26 US cents, up from 66.03 US cents on Friday at 5pm.
ON THE ASX:
* The S&P/ASX200 rose 78.5 points, or 0.91 per cent, to 8,699.9
* The broader All Ordinaries gained 82.4 points, or 0.92 per cent, to 9,000.7
CURRENCY SNAPSHOT:
One Australian dollar trades for:
* 66.26 US cents, from 66.03 US cents at 5pm AEDT on Friday
* 104.28 Japanese yen, from 103.03 Japanese yen
* 56.55 euro cents, from 56.35 euro cents
* 49.46 British pence, from 49.38 British pence
* 114.86 NZ cents, from 114.67 NZ cents
15°C