Australian shares closed on a positive note as the four major banks lifted the market.
CMC Markets chief strategist Ric Spooner said the Australian market closed higher as gains for the major financial stocks outweighed losses for the mining giants.
“I think the main thing was support for the banks ahead of their reporting season,” he said.
ANZ and Westpac are posting their half yearly results later this week.
He also said moderate figures coming out of China on the weekend about the profitability of their industrial companies has increased the possibility of interest rate cuts in Australia.
Westpac surged 55 cents $33.12, Commonwealth Bank jumped 76 cents to $71.60, National Australia Bank gained 45 cents to $33.08 and ANZ added 22 cents to $30.10.
The mining giants tumbled due to falling commodity prices during the past 24 hours.
BHP Billiton lost four cents to $32.54, Rio Tinto dived 44 cents to $55.36 and Fortescue tumbled seven cents to $3.50.
Shares in Aquila Resources finished down 22.5 cents, or 11.08 per cent, at $1.805 after the minerals explorer’s Japanese joint venture partner pulled out of some of its Queensland coal exploration permits.
Santos shares fell three cents to $12.24 after the oil and gas producer committed to a $100 million drilling and appraisal program over the next 12 months in the Northern Territory.
KEY FACTS
* On Monday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 28.3 points, or 0.56 per cent, at 5,125.8 points.
* The broader All Ordinaries index was up 25.6 points, or 0.5 per cent, at 5,108.3 points.
* The June share price index futures contract was up 23 points at 5,130 points, with 17,459 contracts traded.
* The price of gold in Sydney was $US1,470.50 per fine ounce, down $US3.80 on Friday’s closing price of $US1,474.30.
* National turnover was 1.36 billion securities worth $3.14 billion.
