Close The Australian sharemarket rallied today, led by resource companies as investors sought higher yielding assets such as equities and the Australian dollar.
At the close, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was 79.2 points higher, or 1.7 per cent, at 4699.1, while the broader All Ordinaries index jumped 74.8 points, or 1.6 per cent, to 4765.9.
All sectors except for health care posted gains, with materials rising 2.6 per cent, gold up 2.9 per cent and financials gaining 1.7 per cent. Health care stocks fell 0.5 per cent.
The Australian dollar hit a new post-float high of 99.81 US cents this afternoon on the back of strong inflation expectations data ans rising sharemarkets. Metals marked strong rises and gold hit another record as investors shunned the greenback.
need2know:
- Asian shares jump as optimism grows
- The dollar closes locally at 99.60 US cents
- Gold hits new all-time high at $US1377
- Oil climbs close to $US84
- Dow futures are up 37 points at 11,079
A global flood of money and subsequent short squeeze combined to push the market higher, said CityIndex head of dealing Michael McCarthy.
"Metals prices extended their booming gains over night, pushing resource shares up strongly," he said.
"Global giant Rio Tinto has led the sector, playing catch up with the London listed shares which leapt more than 4 per cent overnight."
Rio Tinto a standout
The major miners closed stronger, with Rio Tinto a standout.
The mining giant said this afternoon it had produced record amounts of iron ore, alumina and coking coal in the September quarter. Rio finished up $3.46, or 4.40 per cent, to $82.08.
Rival BHP Billiton closed up 84 cents at $41.66, while Fortescue Metals Group ended up 8 cents at $6.38.
Gold miner Newcrest Mining was up $1.34, or 3.25 per cent, at $42.52, boosted by another surge in the gold price.
All big four banks were stronger, with Westpac the best performer.
Westpac added 56 cents, or 2.5 per cent, to $23.11, CBA closed up $1.18 to $51.20, ANZ was 37 cents higher at $24.00, and National Australia Bank was up 47 cents to $25.68.
BoQ profit jumps
In market news, Bank of Queensland reported a 27 per cent rise in annual net profit and predicted higher growth in the current year. Shares in Bank of Queensland closed down 12 cents, or 1.1 per cent, at $10.40.
Northern Energy Corporation rejected an unsolicited takeover offer from New Hope Corporation, saying the offer materially undervalues the company. Shares in New Hope ended up one cent at $5.30, while Northern Energy was up one cent at $1.585.
The most traded stock by volume was Jervois Mining, with 115.62 million shares worth $573,328 changing hands. Shares in the minerals explorer were up 0.1 cents, or 25 per cent, at 0.5 cents.
Preliminary market turnover was 2.86 billion securities worth $5.99 billion, with 730 stocks up, 434 down and 355 unchanged.
- For market data by sector, click here
- For share price information, click here
- For the latest currency movements, click here
AAP, Reuters, with BusinessDay