The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 38.4 points, or 1.08 per cent, at 3589.3, while the broader All Ordinaries index advanced 36.1 points, or 1.03 per cent, to 3531 after a positive lead from Wall Street on Friday. "The market held on to some quite good gains earlier in the session," CommSec market analyst Juliette Saly said. "Trading volumes were thin." Ms Saly said the market was anxiously awaiting BHP Billiton's December quarter production report on Wednesday amid speculation the mining giant will be forced to close its Ravensthorpe nickel laterite mine in Western Australia due to low prices for the metal. "There has been some speculation that BHP's quarterly production figures could fall under quite a bit of pressure due to slowing demand (for its products) and a big drop off in commodity prices," she said. "But it's continuing to hold up well." Resources were positive. BHP Billiton was up 50 cents at $30.38 while its debt-laden rival Rio Tinto jumped $2.20 to $40.55. "Rio was once again the stand-out," Ms Saly said. "It has been under a lot of selling pressure heading into the end of 2008 but we're starting to see a bit of a recovery in Rio shares." The energy sector was stronger. Woodside gained 2.27 per cent to $34.29, Santos rose 4.62 per cent to $14.73 and Oil Search put on 8 cents to $4.51. Gold stocks were mostly higher. Newcrest leapt 8.01 per cent to $31.27, and Lihir Gold jumped 6.72 per cent to $2.86, but Newmont fell 1.97 per cent, to $5.46. At 4.18pm (AEDT), the spot price of gold in Sydney was $US838.00 per fine ounce, up $US17.20 on Friday's close of $US820.80. Ms Saly said ANZ was the stand-out performer in the banking sector, up 13 cents to $14.43. NAB was 9 cents higher at $19.44 while Westpac, which is undertaking a capital raising this week at about $16.00, dropped 2 cents to $16.09. The Commonwealth Bank has split its corporate division from its institutional banking unit to service customers and manage its capital better. "We also heard of management changes," Ms Saly said. She said Commonwealth Bank shares were under pressure for most of morning but closed 8 cents higher at $27.43. Ms Saly said the local market was expected to be flat on Tuesday, with US markets closed overnight for the Martin Luther King holiday. "We'll be looking for a pick-up on Wednesday as we see Barack Obama inaugurated as the 44th president of the US." On the Sydney Futures Exchange at the March share price index contract was 33 points higher at 3557 on a volume of 18,607 contracts.

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