At 10.17am AEDT, financial stocks were higher, with Macquarie Group up 31 cents at $53.41.
Westpac was 51 cents higher at $27.01, Commonwealth Bank was up 97 cents at $55.51, and National Australia Bank was up 57 cents at $31.29.
ANZ Banking Group gained 44 cents to $23.97 after announcing it had dumped its brandmark of 20 years in favour of a new global brand identity to appeal to customers in Asia.
In the US overnight, Wall Street shares jumped on mostly positive third quarter corporate earnings, which helped the market look past a surprise rise in new claims for unemployment benefits.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 131.95 points, or 1.33 per cent, to close at 10,081.31, rebounding from losses in the prior session.
The Nasdaq composite rose 14.56 points, or 0.68 per cent, to 2,165.29 and the broad-market Standard & Poor's 500 index added 11.51 points, 1.06 per cent, to 1,092.91.
The market shook off a weak start in early trading as investors weighed fresh data showing new jobless claims rising again after dropping for two weeks.
But stocks climbed rapidly as more companies, such as insurer Travelers Cos Inc, reported better-than-expected earnings.
Shares open higher, led by energy sectorStocks appear headed to sharply higher opening
