Strength in the financial and property sectors has lifted the share market.
Shares were weaker in early trade, despite signs that Greece may be granted a vital four month extension on its debt repayments, CMC Markets chief analyst Ric Spooner said.
“The news about Greece didn’t really impress the Australian share market when it opened,” he said.
Shares in the major banks, as well as insurers and property owners, rose during the session to lift the main indices.
“It’s what we’ve seen on many occasions in the past few months – when buying starts in these high yield stocks like the banks it has a habit of continuing on the day if not beyond that,” Mr Spooner said.
“There are buyers waiting in the wings it seems for these stocks looking to improve their yield income.”
Commonwealth Bank added 20 cents to $90.41, National Australia Bank gained 19 cents to $37.67, ANZ lifted 23 cents to $35.04 and Westpac was nine cents higher at $37.72.
AMP rose 14 cents to $6.77, market operator ASX gained $1.19 to $43.18 and Scentre Group, the owner of Australian Westfield shopping centres, was five cents higher at $3.79.
The mining sector was mixed, with BHP Billiton down 18 cents at $32.12, Rio Tinto up 17 cents at $63.92 and Fortescue Metals three cents lower at $2.42.
BlueScope Steel was one of the worst performing stocks, despite a 62 per cent rise in underling half year profit, as investors were underwhelmed by the company’s expectations of weaker margins in the months ahead.
BlueScope shares dropped 45 cents, or 8.1 per cent, to $5.10.
Telstra gained two cents to $6.63.
KEY FACTS
* At the close on Monday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 26.5 points, or 0.45 per cent, at 5,908 points.
* The broader All Ordinaries index was up 26.8 points, or 0.46 per cent, at 5,872.4 points.
* The March share price index futures contract was 17 points higher at 5,862 points, with 18,959 contracts traded.
* National turnover was 1.7 billion securities worth $4.5 billion.
