The Australian share market finished the day up nearly 1%, as strong gains on Wall St whetted investor appetite for local stocks.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index was up 48.7 points, or 0.89%, at 5519, while the broader All Ordinaries was up 52.7 points, or 0.95%, at 5587.30.
The spot price of gold was $US945.10 at 4.30pm AEDT..
Lihir Gold gained 5 cents to $3.40, Newmont Mining added 16 cents to $5.06 and Newcrest Mining rose $1.03 to $34.40.
The banking sector was mixed with Commonwealth Bank adding 38 cents to $42.42, while National Australia Bank shed 30 cents to $28.25, ANZ Bank was up 8 cents to $20.79 and Westpac rose 3 cents to $22.53.
Woodside Petroleum was 91 cents higher at $59.21, after reporting as decrease in Q1 production and sales due to cyclones.
Oil Search rose 7 cents to $5.12 and Santos gained 13 cents to $15.65.
BHP Billiton gained 59 cents or 1.4% to $43.39, while Rio Tinto was up $5.40 or 3.8% at $146.
Appliances manufacturer Fisher & Paykel Appliances announced a reduction of a total of 740 jobs throughout its plants in Australia and New Zealand as part of a strategy to move operations to Italy, Thailand and Mexico. FPA shares gained 22 cents or 11% to $2.11.
Retailer Woolworths ended 20 cents down at $28.50 after trading in the positive for most of the day. Harvey Norman was up 10 cents to $3.78 and David Jones was up 6 cents to $3.53.
