The Australian share market has risen in early trade following a strong overnight performance by US giants Amazon and Netflix and ahead of looming Chinese GDP data.
The Australian share market has risen in early trade following a strong overnight performance by US giants Amazon and Netflix and ahead of looming Chinese GDP data.
The S&P/ASX200 benchmark index was up 89.1 points, or 1.65 per cent, at 5,505.4 points after 30 minutes of trade today after the major US indices climbed in volatile overnight trade.
The All Ordinaries index was up 92 points, or 1.68 per cent, to 5,559.6.
The early rise comes after US tech giants helped Wall Street higher amid new shutdown orders in New York and the UK.
Local property stocks were the strongest out the gate with Vicinity, Mirvac, Goodman, and GPT up by between 3.62 per cent and 5.51 per cent.
Westfield shopping centre owner Scentre Group climbed by 9.22 per cent to $2.25.
The big banks were also strong, Commonwealth Bank up by 1.4 per cent to $62.12, Westpac rising 1.26 per cent to $16.12, NAB gaining 1.84 per cent to $16.58 and ANZ up by 1.69 per cent to $16.86.
Macquarie Group rose 3.27 per cent to $102.24.
Health benchmark CSL climbed 1.88 per cent to $330.98 while Ramsay Health Care rose 3.98 per cent to $66.34.
Big miner BHP was up 1.85 per cent to $31.36 while Rio Tinto gained 3.07 per cent to $91.27 after reporting Pilbara iron ore output and shipments are higher compared to a year ago.
Fortescue Metals gained 2.23 per cent to $11.47.
Toll giant Transurban bounced back with a 5.91 per cent gain to $13.08 while Sydney Airport also helped lift the industrial sector.
Shares in the airport were up 5.34 per cent to $6.11 after it won government approval to temporarily close its east-west runway and use it as a parking lot for grounded aircraft.
Tech stocks also gained ground, with the so-called WAAAX companies - Wisetech, Appen, Afterpay, Altium and Xero - up by between 0.61 per cent and 9.6 per cent.
The energy sector was up by a collective 1.23 per cent despite a mixed performance for oil prices overnight.
Consumer staples the only sector subdued in early trade, flat despite a 0.35 per cent gain for supermarket Woolworths and a 0.52 per cent gain for Coles.
Coca-Cola Amatil dropped by 2.07 per cent to $9.00 after temporarily withdrawing its dividend payout ratio guidance.
Attention will turn to Chinese GDP in the early afternoon with the nation's economy expected to have shrunk by 6.2 per cent over the past 12-months because of the COVID-19 shutdown throughout January and February.
The Australian dollar was buying 63.61 US cents at 1030 AEST, up from 63.02 US cents at the close of markets on Thursday.
