The Australian share market has closed more than one per cent higher as commodity prices rose and Wall Street gave local traders a positive lead.
The S&P ASX/200 index close 1.08 per cent higher at 5,296.7 with most sectors finishing in the green.
ThinkMarkets senior market analyst Matt Simpson said Wall Street rallied overnight following weak US economic data which decreased the chances of a September US Federal Reserve rate hike.
“Overseas events have been driving the Australia share market,” Mr Simpson said.
“There was more soft US data overnight. In the past month, there has been bad PMI data, poor retail sales, soft industrial production; wherever you look there’s no compelling reason for the Fed to hike in September.”
Mr Simpson said the local bourse was also undergoing a correction rather than a “convincing bullish rally” after heavy sell-offs earlier this week.
He said the share market was still at risk of losing ground next week when the Bank of Japan and the US central bank release their monetary policy decisions.
“The Bank of Japan is not giving any firm signals about what they’re going to do,” he said.
“It is expected to have an impact on volatility globally next week and that’s going to be really hard for the ASX to escape. It will likely be caught up in the confusion.”
The Bank of Japan’s interest rate decision is due on Wednesday and the US Federal Open Market Committee’s interest rate decision is due early Thursday morning, Australian time.
As for local shares, the retail sector was one of the biggest winners on Friday.
JB Hi-Fi, which has resumed trading after announcing a $870 million deal to buy The Good Guys earlier this week, closed 5.26 per cent higher, or about $1.50, at $30.00.
Harvey Norman gained eight cents, or 1.56 per cent, to $5.20, while department store giant Myer was up three cents, or 2.35 per cent, at $1.305. This also comes a day after Myer announced its 2015/16 net profit was more than double the prior year’s profit.
Oil and gas producers enjoyed strong gains thanks to a rise in oil prices. Woodside Petroleum added 35 cents, or 1.29 per cent, to $27.43, while Santos rose seven cents, or 2.05 per cent, to $3.48.
The major banks were all higher, with gains ranging from 0.99 per cent to 1.11 per cent.
KEY FACTS:
* The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was up 56.8 points, or 1.08 per cent, at 5,296.7.
* The broader All Ordinaries index was up 59.6 points, or 1.12 per cent, at 5,396.7 points.
* The December share price index futures contract was up nine points at 5,275 points, with 30,550 contracts traded.
* National turnover was 3.6 billion securities traded, worth $8.2 billion.
