Materials sector pushes market higher

The share market has closed higher thanks to strong gains by miners.

Gains by the heavyweight mining sector have driven the share market higher, despite weakness in the financial, health care and real estate sectors.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 was up 10.8 points, or 0.19 per cent, at 5,771.5 points at 1615 AEDT on Wednesday, while the broader All Ordinaries index was up 10.7 points, or 0.18 per cent, at 5,823.7 points.

The March SPI200 futures contract was up 16 points at 5,732 points, with 24,470 contracts traded.