(RTTNews) - The Australian stock market is up sharply on Friday morning with the overnight strong upmove on Wall Street on the back of some encouraging economic reports triggering hectic buying across the board.

Financial, energy, materials and industrials stocks are trading with strong gains. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index, which rose to 4,577, is currently up 65 points, or 1.4%, at 4,575. The broader All Ordinaries index is trading at 4,583, up 63.8 points, or 1.4%, over its previous close.

On Thursday, the S&P/ASX 200 index had declined 32.1 points, or 0.7%, to 4,508, while the All Ordinaries index ended lower by 28.4 points, or 0.6%, at 4,519.2.

Among key bank stocks, Westpac Banking Corporation is trading stronger by about 2.2%, while ANZ Bank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia and National Australia Bank are gaining 0.5%-1.3%. Diversified financials stock Macquarie Group is up nearly 2.5%.

Among materials stocks, BHP Billiton is up 1.6% and Rio Tinto is gaining 1.8%. Incitec Pivot is up nearly 5%. Orica, Bluescope Steel and Fortescue Metals are also trading notably higher. However, Newcrest Mining is down in negative territory with a modest loss.

In the energy space, Woodside Petroleum is gaining over 1%. Santos, Origin Energy and Oil Search are up with modest gains.

Capital goods sector heavyweight Leighton Holdings is trading with a sharp 5% gain. Insurance stock QBE Insurance is up 4.5% over its previous closing price and transportation stock Transurban Group is gaining about 5.5%. Worleyparsons, another prominent gainer, is trading higher by as much as 5.7%.

In economic news on Friday, the Reserve Bank of Australia releases its quarterly statement on Monetary Policy.

In the currency market, the Australia dollar opened modestly higher on Friday. In early trades, the Aussie was quoting at US$0.9103-US$0.9105, up from Thursday’s close of US$0.9072-US$0.9075.

Among other stock markets in the Asia-Pacific region, Japan, Singapore, Korea and Taiwan are up with sharp gains. The New Zealand market is also trading in positive territory with a notable gain. Stock markets across the region had closed mostly lower on Thursday.

On Wall Street, stocks rallied sharply on Thursday with some upbeat figures on the labor market and quarterly productivity lifting investor sentiment significantly. The major averages all posted standout gains after ending each of the two previous sessions mixed, with the Dow climbing back above the 10,000 level.

The Dow closed stronger by 203.8 points, or 2.1%, at 10,006, the Nasdaq gained 49.8 points, or 2.4%, to end at 2,105.3 and the S&P 500 advanced by 20.1 points, or 1.9%, to 1,066.6.

Major European markets closed moderately higher on Thursday. The French CAC 40 index moved up 1.1%, while the German DAX index and the U.K.’s FTSE 100 gained 0.7% and 0.4% respectively.

Crude oil fell for the first time in four sessions on Thursday amid demand worries. Light sweet crude oil for December delivery finished at US$79.62 per barrel, down 78 cents on the session.

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Posted in Categories: Australia, Eurozone, Japan, New Zealand, Releases, Stocks, USA.

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