The S&P/ASX200 finished 34.4 points higher to 4280.5 points while the All Ordinaries gained 34.3 points to 4361.6.

The financial gains came on the back of figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics which found the nation’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate held firm at 5.2% for March.

The ABS said the number of people employed rose by 44,000 to nearly 11.5 million people in March, driven by increases in full-time and part-time employment.

In the eurozone, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy yesterday told the People’s Party it risked losing access to financing if it failed to convince investors it could reorder public finances and steer the economy back to growth.

“This is the most difficult moment now because we’re suffering the shared sacrifices to correct the errors of the past without them apparently bearing fruit,” Rajoy told lawmakers, according to Bloomberg.

Meanwhile, Italy will sell as much as 5 billion euros ($A6.3 billion) worth of bonds in the next day.

BHP Billiton shares gained 0.92% or 31c to close at $A33.90.

Rival Rio Tinto saw its shares add nearly 1.5% or 94c to $64.46 while Fortescue Metals Group shares dipped 0.35% to $5.68.

Atlas Iron shares gained 0.36% or 1c to $2.80.

Northern Star Resources shares closed 5c higher to 91c on news of drilling at its Paulsens gold operation in Western Australia returning bonanza results of up to 2330 grams per tonne gold.

Iluka Resources shares rounded off, trading unchanged at $17.27 after the mineral sands miner reported a significant drop in sales revenue despite higher product prices for the latest quarter, due to a lag in zircon sales and a range of other factors.

On the wider watchlist, iron ore developer Flinders Mines shares closed 2.2% lower or 0.5c to 22c after it was placed in a trading halt pending an announcement on the motion to block a takeover attempt by Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Works, which is being heard in Russia’s Chelyabinsk Arbitration Court.

The gold price was trading flat in afternoon trade in Singapore, down 0.03% to $US1658.45 per ounce.

Local gold giant Newcrest Mining shares added 11c to $28.97.

Base metals rebounded from yesterday’s losses with copper the biggest mover, gaining nearly 0.9% to $8114 per tonne, while zinc added 0.74% at $2010/t while nickel firmed 0.3% at $18,158/t.

Lead for three-month delivery gained 0.3% to $2058.50/t while tin added half a per cent to $22,550/t.

The Australian dollar was fetching $US1.0375 at 3.54pm AEST.

- with Bloomberg