The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was up 24.1 points or 0.5% to 4820.6, while the broader All Ordinaries was up 21.4 points to 4919.3.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased slightly by 1.81 points or 0.02% to 12,041.97, while the S&P 500 lost 3.56 points or 0.27% to 1304.03.

A decline in US stocks overnight came as supporters of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak clashed in central Cairo with demonstrators after he said he would not step down until an election in September.

Unrest in Egypt “is the sort of event risk that is difficult to hedge, so many will prefer to be better safe than sorry”, Bloomberg quoted London-based Roubini Global Economics head of global market research Arnab Das as saying.

“Another trade or oil shock, so soon after the systemic global financial crisis and last year’s double-digit fears, could hit global recovery, fragile as it is.”

Of the big miners, BHP Billiton gained A62c to $46.32, Rio Tinto jumped 38c to $86.20, Fortescue Metals Group gained 1c to $6.63, OZ Minerals increased 2.5c to $1.715, while Paladin Energy lost 10c to $5.34.

The biggest share price run of the day went to Fortis Minerals, which gained 25.3% to 46.5c on news yesterday that it has secured a strategic Hong Kong investor partner.

Shares in Sheffield Resources also had a run, jumping 19.3% to 34c after it revealed an increased in its iron ore footprint in the Pilbara of Western Australia.

The biggest fall of the day went to Radar Iron, which funnily enough had one of the biggest share price runs yesterday. Shares in the company fell 15.9% or 6.5c to 34.5c.

In other news, both Doray Minerals and Thundelarra Exploration entered self-imposed trading halts pending the release of maiden resource statements.

Spot gold was down $US1.65 to $1333.68 an ounce at 4.20pm AEDT.

Australia’s largest locally owned gold producer Newcrest Mining lost A35c to $36.82, while Kingsgate dropped 5c to $9.39 and AngloGold Ashanti shed 21c to $8.63.

On the London Metal Exchange, the majority of commodities traded were higher with the exception of lead and aluminium.

Copper for three-month delivery increased $US31.75 a tonne to $9945/t, while zinc jumped $12.50 to $2475/t, nickel gained $90 to $28,000t and tin increased $495 to $30,650/t.

Aluminium fell $13 to $2525/t, while lead dropped $5 to $2565/t.

The Australian dollar was slightly higher and trading just above parity at the time of market close, fetching $US1.01.