The Australian bourse has closed stronger on Thursday as investors took heart from positive economic data. The market posted a second successive day of strong gains, with all sectors in the black.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index climbed 37 points or 0.8 per cent at 4532.7. The broader All Ordinaries index, meanwhile, had climbed to 4563 after adding 36.2 points, or 0.8 per cent.

All sectors showed strength, with financials gaining 1.1 per cent and materials 0.7 per cent higher.

The S&P/ASX200 is 4 per cent stronger so far this week at a three-week high following Wednesday's data that showed the economy expanded 1.2 per cent in the June quarter - the fastest in three years.

The domestic market had a solid opening this morning as investors rushed back to equities for fear of missing out on a rally, but later trimmed some opening gains as profit-taking set in.

The local market opened up with strong gains before losing some ground late in the session, said Burrell Stockbroking director Richard Herring.

''The gains have been quite broad, which has been encouraging,'' Mr Herring said. ''The banks have been quite firm after a good day yesterday and the resources enjoyed a good day as well.

''It's encouraging that the market is moving up on perhaps a bit more breadth in terms of stock movements rather than just the top half a dozen that tend to dominate the index.''

Rio Tinto increased 88 cents or 1.22 per cent to $73.12. BHP Billiton added 41c or 1.08 per cent to $38.32.

Of the large banks, ANZ gained 29c at $23.43, while Commonwealth Bank was up 61c to $51.92. National Australia Bank climbed 26c to $21.11 and Westpac jumped to $22.65 after adding 30c.

Macquarie Group, meanwhile, slumped 40c to $37.40.

The major retail stocks were likewise strong performers, with Wesfarmers adding 57c or 1.74 per cent at $33.29 and Woolworths edging up 24c or 0.85 per cent to $28.47.

David Jones went up 17c to $5.15 and JB Hi-Fi jumped 35c to $21.39. Harvey Norman, on the other hand, shed 1c to $3.48.

Metcash slid down 9c or 2.04 per cent to $4.32 after announcing underlying earnings per share was likely to expand by 6 to 8 per cent.

Woodside Petroleum stocks edged up 33c to $43.23 when it said Browse liquefied natural gas development was on track to complete a $1.25 billion works program by mid-2012.

In the energy sector, Santos slumped 23c to $14.06, while Oil Search improved 1c to $5.95.