The Australian share market closed higher on Wednesday, led by gains in the mining sector.

On Wednesday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 9.1 points, or 0.21 per cent, at 4,412.7 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index rose 10 points, or 0.23 per cent, to 4,428.7 points.

On the Sydney Futures Exchange, the September share price index futures contract was up 10 points to 4,392 points, with 22,122 contracts traded.

Gains were made across the mining sector following the release of strong production figures from BHP Billiton on Wednesday morning. The miner said its petroleum and iron ore divisions have both achieved annual production records.

BHP shares were up 45 cents, or 1.17 per cent, at $38.75, Rio Tinto gained $1.30, or 1.95 per cent, at $67.80 but Fortescue Metals dropped three cents to $4.10. In other mining news, NGM Resources recommended its shareholders accept a $27 million takeover bid from African focused uranium miner Paladin Energy.

Paladin also said it was eyeing more acquisitions. Paladin shares slipped four cents, or 1.12 per cent, at $3.54 while NGM was up 4.2 cents, or 45.16 per cent, at 13.5 cents.

Woolworths shares were down 49 cents, or 1.84 per cent, at $26.19 while Coles owner Wesfarmers was down 21 cents at $28.29. Foster's fell 10 cents to $5.84 and Coca-Cola shed 11 cents to $11.83.

Among the big banks Commonwealth rose 28 cents to $51.15, Westpac gained 10 cents to $22.52 and ANZ rose 15 cents to $22.49.

NAB shares fell 20 cents to $24.20 after it said it was in discussions with global asset management and securities services company BNY Mellon to deepen the relationship, possibly in the form of a joint venture, and offer more products to clients.

The price of gold was $1,189.00 per fine ounce, up $5.38 on Tuesday's close of $1,183.62.

The top traded stock by volume was Continental Coal, after its trading halt was lifted on Wednesday, with 181.6 million shares worth $10.9 million changing hands.

Continental shares were down 0.3 cent, or 5.17 per cent, at 5.5 cents. Preliminary market turnover was 2.24 billion shares worth $4.53 billion, with 540 stocks up, 446 down and 351 unchanged.

The Australian dollar ticked higher in Asia Wednesday, buoyed by broadly firmer regional equities as dealers await a fresh update on the U.S. economy from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke later.

The local session was devoid of any major fresh data or news flow, leaving the currency to gain ground on the back of improving sentiment.

The Australian dollar was quoted at $0.8818, up from $0.8802 late Tuesday. Against the Japanese yen, the Australian dollar was recently at 76.865 from 76.545.