This more than offset a slump among miners.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 lifted 28.8 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 5476.2. The broader All Ordinaries gained 25.9 points, or 0.5 per cent, to 5457.1.

Overnight on Wednesday, America's central bank confirmed that it will end it "quantitative easing" program as the American economy continues on its trajectory towards recovery.

"QE has been the one constant to push assets ever higher, and now that it has ceased, we expect volatility to return to the markets," Suncorp Bank head of treasury research Darryl Conroy said.

Locally, financials buoyed the market, adding 0.9 per cent as a group, while resources struggled, dipping 0.5 per cent.

Kicking off bank reporting season, National Australia Bank profits were down close to 10 per cent on the previous year. The bank still delivered a $5.2 billion profit in the year to September, in line with previous guidance. NAB is also examining a float of its British business. The bank's shares jumped 0.8 per cent to $34.64.

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, due to report on Friday, pushed 1 per cent higher to $33.26. Westpac Banking Corp, reporting Monday, rose 0.8 per cent to $34.46 and Commonwealth Bank of Australia, which will provide a quarterly earnings update on Tuesday, gained 0.7 per cent to $80.17.

Among the miners, BHP Billiton fell 0.7 per cent to $33.55, while rival Rio Tinto slipped 0.6 per cent to $59.30.

Wesfarmers shares jumped 1.3 per cent to $43.92 after the conglomerate announced it had lifted total retail sales across its business by 4.6 per cent in the first quarter of the 2014-15 financial year. The boost was led by better-than-expected sales at supermarket Coles, which recorded same-store sales growth of 4.3 per cent.

Medibank, which is due to list later this year, looks to be heavily oversubscribed, with stockbrokers bidding for $12 billion worth of shares on behalf of clients.

"There are things like Medibank that look interesting. The reason why it's getting absolutely rushed is that is it difficult to find other things in the market that you can buy with a lot of conviction at the moment," Totus Capital portfolio manager Ben McGarry said.

Continuing annual general meeting season, Flight Centre managing director Graham Turner told shareholders that the Ebola outbreak in West Africa had not had a meaningful impact on travel due to the virus not spreading into travel destinations. Flight Centre shares shed 2.7 per cent to $42.31.

Shares in Coca-Cola Amatil pushed 4.5 per cent higher to $9.07 after the beverage maker announced its parent company Coca-Cola Co would purchase a 29.4 per cent stake in its Indonesian business for $US500 million and that the company would return to profit growth in 2015.

Insurance Australia Group told shareholders on Thursday that the company was on track for up to 20 per cent revenue growth in the 2015 financial year thanks to the acquisition of Wesfarmers' $1.85 billion insurance business. IAG shares lifted 2.5 per cent to $6.45.

Origin Energy told the market on Thursday that its $24.7 billion Australia Pacific LNG venture is 84 per cent complete but that more than 90 per cent of the budget for it has been spent. Origin shares fell 0.5 per cent to $14.23.

BT Investment Management shares rose 2.4 per cent to $6.30, after the Westpac-backed company revealed it had more than doubled its net profit to $127 million, and hiked its dividend by 90 per cent.

Nine Entertainment confirmed that it is in talks to buy outdoor advertising firm oOh! Media. Nine shares were flat at $2.07.