At 10.15am (AEDT), the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 27 points, or 0.76 per cent, to 3558.4, while the broader All Ordinaries index rose 24.3 points, or 0.7 per cent, to 3492.5.
"We're seeing a little bit of a positive Christmas run despite the Futures contract showing us that we're down today,'' Macquarie Equities Brisbane adviser Helen Spencer said.
"We're up right across the board with the banks generally in positive territory.''
The banks were mixed.
Commonwealth Bank dropped 5 cents to $26.99, NAB lifted 17 cents to $19.77, ANZ was steady at $14.87, and Westpac rose 18 cents to $16.44.
Miners were in positive territory, lifting the market higher.
BHP Billiton gained 48 cents to $28.97 while its rival Rio Tinto soared 93 cents to $36.30.
Oil stocks were higher at 10.39am with Oil Search firming 2.93 per cent to $4.22, Santos gaining 3 cents to $13.87 and Woodside Petroleum rising 48 cents to $32.64.
In news this Christmas Eve, AGL Energy Ltd made a $171 million offer for coal seam gas (CSG) producer Sydney Gas, offering to acquire all shares in Sydney Gas at 42.5 cents per share in a formal off-market takeover bid.
Sydney Gas shares last traded at 27.5 cents while AGL was traded at $15.45. Both stocks resume trading later this morning.
The stock market will close around 2.30pm and will not trade again until Monday.
Wall Street dropped in thin trade overnight, as US growth and housing data showed that the US economy continues to struggle.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down for the fifth straight session, losing 100.28 points, or 1.18 per cent, to settle at 8419.49.
The Nasdaq fell 10.81 points, or 0.71 per cent, to 1521.54, and the Standard & Poor's 500 broad-market index settled 8.47 points lower, or by 0.97 per cent, at 863.16.
On the Sydney Futures Exchange, the March share price index contract was 91 points lower at 3559 on a volume of 5001 contracts.
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