The Australian market is more than one per cent higher, rebounding from Thursday’s heavy losses.
At 1209 AEDT on Friday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 56.5 points, or 1.13 per cent, at 5,036.6 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index was up 54.3 points, or 1.09 per cent, to 5,052.9 points.
On the ASX 24, the March share price index futures contract was up 49 points at 5,016 points, with 26,459 contracts traded.
On Thursday, $36 billion was wiped from the value of Australian shares after the local market posted its largest one-day decline in nine months, sparked by investor concern over a big drop on Wall Street and weaker metals prices.
But, by noon on Friday, $16 billion had already been returned to the market.
“I think a lot of people just thought yesterday was significantly overdone,” said Chris Weston, a dealer at IG Markets.
“I think people saw the federal minutes (of the US Federal Open Market Committee) as pretty hawkish yesterday. On second glance, people have had a reread and seen they aren’t going to be cutting asset purchase anytime soon, and if you drill down there was some quite dovish rhetoric in there.
“So, I think there was a bit of a knee-jerk reaction.”
Locally, however, the mining giants were all lower at noon.
BHP Billiton was 17 cents lower at $37, while Rio Tinto had dropped 17 cents to $67.13.
“BHP has been moving up from the June/July lows but it hasn’t performed anywhere near as well as the banks have, for example, or the higher yielding stock,” Mr Weston said.
“The cyclicals haven’t enjoyed a big move up throughout this whole rally anywhere near what we’ve seen from the more defensive-natured yield players.”
Santos on Friday posted a drop in full year net profit, but the oil and gas producer said it still expected to meet its production targets in 2013.
At 1215 AEDT Santos was up 24 cents, or 2.02 per cent, to $12.14.
Billabong shares fell close to their all-time low after the surfwear retailer said it had suffered a $537 million first half loss and downgraded its expectations for underlying earnings in the full financial year.
It’s shares hit a low of 84.5 cents after the result was released, close to its lowest ever price of 79 cents but had rebounded to 88 cents by 1232 AEDT.
All four banks continued to help lead the market higher.
ANZ gained 33 cents, or 1.18 per cent, to $28.31; Commonwealth Bank lifted 12.5 cents, or 1.93 per cent, to $66.06; NAB was up 54 cents, or 1.84 per cent, to $29.96; and Westpac put on 65 cents, or 2.2 per cent, to $30.14.
At 1220 AEDT, national turnover was 401.6 million securities worth $3.08 billion.
