Aussie stocks rosy

AUSTRALIAN stocks have closed at near 15-month highs after gaining 1 per cent on good news from home and abroad.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was yesterday up 31.2 points, or 0.69 per cent, at 4559.4 points while the broader All Ordinaries index had risen 30 points, or 0.66 per cent, to 4580.9 points.

On the ASX 24, the December share price index futures contract was 21 points stronger at 4556 points, with 30,606 contracts traded.

Australian stocks opened up about 0.8 per cent, as local market players took their cues from a positive night on Wall Street.

The bourse was 1 per cent firmer at noon and despite slipping slightly in afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX200 still posted its highest close since July 27, 2011.

‘‘Market confidence seems to have turned a corner today,’’ CMC Markets sales trader Ben Taylor said in a research note.

‘‘The wave of optimism has ensured all sectors, bar the defensive healthcare sector, have enjoyed a rise today with the miners leading the charge.’’

A private sector survey showed business conditions improved slightly in October.

The best-performing sector yesterday was metals and minerals stocks, which rose 3.05 per cent, according to IRESS data. Materials stocks advanced 2.70 per cent, while financial companies rose 0.24 per cent.