The Australian stock market is trading notably higher on Monday with investors going on a buying spree almost across the board on the back of a positive close from Wall Street following reassuring statements by the U.S. Federal Reserve about the U.S. economy.
Financial, energy, mining and healthcare stocks are mostly up with sharp gains. Consumer discretionary, technology and industrial stocks are also up with notable gains.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index is currently trading at 4,456, up 85.9 points or 2% over its previous close. The broader All Ordinaries index is up 81.9 points or 1.8% at 4,486.
On Friday, the S&P/ASX 200 index ended up 14.1 points or 0.32% at 4,370.1, while the All Ordinaries index gained 14.7 points or 0.33% to 4,404.1.
Key bank stocks ANZ Bank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Australia Bank and Westpac are up 2.2%-2.5%. Bank of Queensland is up 3.2% and Bendigo & Adelaide Bank is gaining about 2.2%, while Macquarie Group is up 3.3% over is previous closing price.
Among mining stocks, BHP Billiton is up 1%, Rio Tinto is gaining 2.3%, Fortescue Metals is up by over 3% and Newcrest Mining is trading 2.3% up. Bluescope Steel, Incitec Pivot, Lihir Gold and Orica are all trading notably higher.
Energy stock Santos is up by about 8%. Santos has signed a deal with Texan company Apache Energy Ltd to produce gas from the Halyard and Spar fields offshore from Western Australia. The company said the deal with Apache would usher in a significant new addition to the WA gas supplies, with the combined operations supplying about 10% of the state's gas needs from 2012. Under the deal, Santos has sold 55% of its working interest in its Spar development, in the Carnarvon Basin, to Apache for an initial payment of US$31 million. Additional payments from Apache could total US$85 million, subject to its level of certified reserves following the drilling of an appraisal well at the development later this year.
Among other stocks in the energy space, Woodside Petroleum is gaining about 1%, Oil Search is up 2.1% and Origin Energy is up with a gain of 1.8%.
Beach Energy Ltd has posted an 87% fall in net profit, but the oil and gas company says it is well placed for growth after a solid year. Beach Energy reported a net profit of A$33.12 million for the 12 months ending June 30, down from A$260.38 million in 2008-2009. Revenue for the year fell 16% to A$487.47 million, down from A$581.37 million in the prior year. The stock is currently trading 2.5% up.
In the currency market, the Australian dollar opened notably higher as comments from the US Federal Reserve chairman helped ease fears about the global economy. In early trades, the Aussie was quoting at US$0.9019-US$0.9123, well off Friday's close of US$0.8869-US$0.8871.
Among other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Japan is trading sharply higher with its benchmark Nikkei 225 gaining as much as 2.8%. Malaysia, New Zealand, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore are also trading firm. Markets across the region had ended on a mixed note on Friday.
On Friday, stocks rallied sharply on Wall Street, as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke reassured investors that the Fed would take action if economic conditions worsen further. The markets also benefited from a downward revision to second-quarter GDP growth that was not quite as severe as some had feared.
The major averages closed near their best levels of the day. The Dow ended up 164.8 points or 1.7% at 10,150.7, the Nasdaq rallied 34.9 points or 1.6% to 2,153.6 and the S&P 500 surged 17.4 points or 1.7% to 1,064.6.
Major European markets ended notably higher on Friday. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index and the French CAC 40 index both gained 0.9%, while the German DAX index ended 0.7% up.
Crude oil prices moved past US$75 a barrel on Friday after U.S. central bank chief Ben Bernanke managed to soothe growth concerns. Light, sweet crude for October delivery ended up US$1.81 at US$75.17 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.