The share market has overcome early falls to gain almost one per cent in value, driven by strength among the major banks.
What looked like being a “cautious day” turned into a positive session, CMC Markets analyst Ric Spooner said, with gains also made in the retail, healthcare and industrial sectors.
“I think most people would have seen the market this morning and thought that is a relatively surprising outcome,” he said.
However, elements of caution are lingering, particularly among mining and energy stocks.
While the mining giants’ early falls were partly recovered, they remained in the red.
BHP Billiton slid 35 cents to $17.86, Rio Tinto shed 96 cents to $44.30 and Fortescue Metals Group was eight cents weaker at $2.71.
In the energy sector, Woodside Petroleum dropped 74 cents to $26.83, Santos lost 10 cents to $3.79 and Oil Search fell 19 cents to $7.23.
Banking stocks enjoyed strength, particularly in afternoon trade.
“Yesterday’s little bit of a pause in the rally in bank stocks has proved to be short lived and buyers have returned there today,” Mr Spooner said.
“That relief will remain in place even if we see short term volatility in commodities.”
Westpac added 72 cents to $32.53, National Australia Bank rose 70 cents to $27.55, ANZ bounced 50 cents to $25.48 and Commonwealth Bank was 86 cents higher at $76.31.
KEY FACTS:
* The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index added 49.2 points, or 0.96 per cent, to 5,157.2 points.
* The broader All Ordinaries index gained 46.2 points, or 0.89 per cent, to 5,215.7 points.
* The March share price index futures contract was up 39 points at 5,150 points, with 39,947 contracts traded.
* The price of gold in Sydney at 1700 AEDT was $US1,260.60 per fine ounce, down $5.00 on Tuesday’s price of $US$1,255.60.
* National turnover was 2.7 billion securities traded, worth $6.3 billion.
