The ASX 200 closed 1.23% higher at 8,520.7 points. Over the past five days, the index has gained 0.32% and is currently 0.54% below its 52-week high.
News Corporation was the top-performing stock, rising 5.77% to close at $56.28. The company reported Q2 revenue of $2.24 billion, a 5% increase from the previous quarter, with net income from continuing operations rising 58% year-on-year to $306 million.
The Star Entertainment Group fell 8%, closing at $0.115 per share.
All sectors except energy posted gains. Financials led the market, rising 2% due to strength in major Australian banks. The energy sector declined by 0.31%.
A number of small caps had double figure increases with Lightning Minerals Ltd up 15.8% to a daily high of $0.088, Constellation Resources Ltd rose 15.79% to $0.22, Aurum Resources Ltd was 12.73% higher to $0.31, Nova Minerals Ltd reached $0.32, a lift of 10.35%, and Great Boulder Resources Ltd increased 10.0% to $0.055.
Other positive moves were made by Asian Battery Metals PLC, which was up 9.3% to $0.047, Silver Mines Ltd pushed up 7.7% to $0.084, Predictive Discovery Ltd was 7.58% higher to $0.355, FireFly Metals Ltd hit $0.922, a rise of 6.59%, Leeuwin Metals Ltd increased 6.09% to $0.122 and Tolu Minerals Ltd reached $0.945, a rise of 5%.