Australian shares rebound again to close up slightly

The tech sector led gainers, rising 1.9 per cent, while materials lost ground. (Dan Himbrechts/AAP PHOTOS)

For the second day in a row, the local share market has shaken off a dreary start to close modestly higher.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down as much as 0.65 per cent in the first half-hour of trading, but rose steadily after that to finish Monday on the highs of the day, up 7.7 points, or 0.11 per cent, at 7,076.5.