Australian shares climbed Thursday as investors weighed the impact of Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential race.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.3% or 26.80 points to close at 8,226.30.

While investors still expect the US Federal Reserve to cut rates by 0.25% at its two-day monetary policy meeting, Trump's proposed immigration policies and tariffs may fuel inflation, making it hard for future rate cuts, Reuters reported.

"The big challenge for markets is that if you do see tariffs come through you need to balance the short-term nature of inflation risks with the medium-term aspect of lower growth," said Justin Onuekwusi, chief investment officer at St James Place, according to the report.

"The market appears to be thinking about inflation right now," Onuekwusi added.

On the domestic front, the Reserve Bank of Australia said that total retail purchases on Australian-issued cards rose 1.8% to AU$88.4 billion in September following a 1% increase in August.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics said that Australia's goods trade surplus narrowed by AU$675 million to AU$4.61 billion in September from August.

In a separate statement, the statistics bureau said that Australia's building approvals rose 4.4% to 14,842 in September, in line with preliminary figures published by the bureau on Oct. 31.

In corporate news, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) cleared Sigma Healthcare's (ASX:SIG) proposed acquisition of Chemist Warehouse, subject to a court-enforceable undertaking, which will allow long-term pharmacies under contract with Sigma to switch wholesalers at any time. Its shares surged 25% at market close.

Meanwhile, National Australia Bank (ASX:NAB) reported cash earnings of AU$3.55 billion, or AU$1.14 per share, for the fiscal second half, compared with AU$3.55 billion, or AU$1.12 per share, in the fiscal first half. Analysts polled by Visible Alpha expected cash earnings of AU$3.52 billion, or AU$1.12 per share. The bank's shares closed marginally higher.

Lastly, BHP Group (ASX:BHP) confirmed that the Brazilian Supreme Court ratified an agreement relating to Samarco's Fundao dam failure in 2015. Its shares ended almost 1% higher.

The agreement, worth 170 billion Brazilian reais, settles the framework agreement obligations, Federal Public Prosecution Office civil claim, and other claims by the public authorities concerning the dam failure.