Market rides wave of US, China inspiration

THE Australian share market has closed higher for the sixth straight session, following a positive lead from US markets and stable commodity prices.

On Wall Street in the US overnight, markets lifted as the sliding oil price stabilised and data showed fairly healthy economic growth in the US.

“We did see some good news out of the US markets which certainly helped us with a positive open,” IG market strategist Angus Nicholson said.

“Also, we are seeing some strength in the iron ore price over the past couple of days, so that’s really helping a lot of our resources stocks.”

Mr Nicholson said the resources sector was having the best day on the index by far, albeit in light pre-Christmas trading.

He said a strong performance by mining heavyweights BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto reflected desire by Chinese policymakers at the Chinese Central Economic Work Conference earlier this week for more economic stimulus, which would boost demand for industrial metals and iron ore.

In the resources sector, global miner BHP Billiton rose 58c to $17.41, Rio Tinto climbed $1.77 to $44 and Fortescue Metals firmed 5c to $1.79.

At the close, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 25.1 points, or 0.49 per cent, at 5141.8 points and the broader All Ordinaries index was up 25.8 points, or 0.5 per cent, at 5193.5 points.