The Australian bourse ended Monday's trading day strongly, with gains accelerating in the afternoon as banks and miners rose, overshadowing heavy losses by Macquarie Group after the investment bank announced a profit downgrade.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index increased 34.3 points or 0.76 per cent to 4575.5 points at close of trade. The broader All Ordinaries gained 38.1 points (0.83 per cent) at 4615.7 points.

Among the sectors, materials and financials stocks both climbed 0.8 per cent. Energy stocks added 0.2 per cent.

A better-than-expected jobs figure from the US on Friday had helped spur local investors, according to CommSec market analyst Juliette Saly.

''Our market rose about 4 per cent over the course of last week and it is nice to see more momentum.''

Ms Saly said it was also significant that the All Ordinaries had gone above the psychological 4600 point barrier.

Financials were mainly stronger, except for Macquarie, which bucked the trend.

The investment bank disappointed investors who were anticipating a rise in profits, dragging its stocks down as much as 8 per cent to a 15-month before recovering some ground. Its shares lost $1.74 or 4.7 per cent to end at $35.25.

The fall, which is the biggest in 10 weeks, cut about $570 million from the bank's value, sending the stock to its weakest finish in more than 15 months.

The four major banks, however, were all in the black, with Commonwealth Bank gaining 55 cents at $52.12. Westpac increased 28c at $22.78, while National Australia Bank jumped 18c at $24.28. ANZ added 37c at $23.66.

The materials sector was nearly 1 per cent higher, with gains to big miners, including a moderate rise to BHP Billiton, despite it going ex-dividend. BHP Billiton shares closed 22 cents higher at $38.55.