Australian shares closed stronger after record gains in the S&P 500 overnight, buoyed by strong showings in the retail, banking and mining sectors.

The Commonwealth Bank had the largest gains of Australia's major banks, up 1.7 percent despite that the National Australia Bank fell 2.7 percent due to trading ex-dividend.

Food wholesaler Metcash Limited had the largest gain in the ASX 200, up 12.06 percent.

Miners BHP and Rio Tinto closed higher, gaining 1.6 percent and 0.7 percent respectively.

At the close, the ASX/S&P 200 was up 0.68 percent to 5735.5 points and the broader All Ordinaries index gained 0.66 percent to 5730 points.

Overnight gains in the Australian Dollar were short lived, closing at 80.45 U.S. cents.