The Australian sharemarket has finished higher amid optimism for a deal on the US-China trade war and a spike in the price of oil.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index closed up 23.7 points, or 0.39 per cent, at 6,089.8 points at 1615 AEDT on Monday, while the broader All Ordinaries was up 22.1 points, or 0.36 per cent, at 6,170.7.
"It's been a pretty solid start to the new week," said CommSec market analyst James Tao, who cited optimism over the US-China trade talks, which resume in Washington this week.
A rise in the price of oil, of over 2 per cent to nearly $US56 also helped the energy sector, which led gains.
Santos, Beach Energy, Origin Energy and Woodside Petroleum closed up between 1.19 per cent and 3.18 per cent.
The big four banks were flat while the Bank of Queensland dropped 6.33 per cent after saying it expected its earnings for the half-year to drop between 6 and 9 per cent.
Mining giant BHP added 1.45 per cent while Rio Tinto rose 1.42 per cent and Fortescue Metals was up 1.59 per cent.
Higher gold prices provided a boost for Newcrest Mining, up 0.76 per cent, and Evolution Mining, which was up 0.8 per cent.
Shares in rubbish collector Bingo plummeted almost 50 per cent after it blamed slowing construction activity for missing its forecasts.
Adelaide-based biopharmaceutical company Bionomics shot up more than 54 per cent, meanwhile, after it reported promising results from an early trial of its drug candidate to treat symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.
Healthcare giant CSL was up 1.1 per cent.
Shares in protective gloves manufacturer Ansell were up 4.09 per cent as it lifted its full-year earnings guidance despite a 91 per cent drop in first-half net profit.
Logistics company Brambles was down 1.51 per cent after reporting a 27 per cent dip in first-half profit.
Online comparison website owner iSelect was down 1.25 per cent after announcing a $6.9 million first-half loss.
Nib was down 2.41 per cent after the health insurer said it expected a weaker second half.
The Aussie dollar climbed higher throughout the day, reaching 71.50 US cents at 1615 AEDT, from 70.92 US cents on Friday.
ON THE ASX:
* The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 23.7 points, or 0.39 per cent, at 6,089.8 points at 1630 AEDT on Monday.
* The All Ordinaries was up 22.1 points, or 0.36 per cent, at 6,170.7.
* At 1630 AEDT, the SPI200 futures index was down 1 point, or 0.02 per cent, at 6051.
CURRENCY SNAPSHOT AT 1630 AEDT:
One Australian dollar buys:
* 71.50 US cents, from 70.92 US on Friday
* 79.04 Japanese yen, from 78.27
* 63.21 euro cents, from 62.84
* 55.37 British pence, from 55.38
* 103.87 NZ cents, from 103.89
GOLD:
The spot price of gold in Sydney at 1630 AEDT was $US1323.49 per fine ounce, from $US1320.93 on Friday.
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