After a four-session losing streak where the index fell to a closing level not seen since March 12, the Australian share market showed a growth quite recently, helped by signs of easing pressure on government finances in Spain and Italy and some benign local data.
A rise of 0.4 per cent to 4264.80 in the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index, scaling down week-to-date losses to 1.3 per cent and bringing year-to-date gains to 5.1 per cent.
The broader All Ordinaries index had risen 34.3 points, or 0.79 per cent, at 4,361.6 points.
On the ASX 24, there was an increase of 34 points at 4,289 points, with 23,319 contracts traded, on the June share price index futures contract, according to preliminary calculations.
On the Australian economic front, according to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, figures showed that the unemployment rate had remained steady at 5.2 per cent in March from February. This was better than expected as economists had widely expected the rate to tick up to 5.3 per cent.
CMC Markets sales trader Ben Taylor commented that the unemployment figures were better than expected, which had definitely contributed to the rise in the Australian share market.
Mr. Taylor revealed that the remarks by a European Central Bank official indicating that the ECB’s resumption of its bond-buying programme to support debt-laden countries in the eurozone may have contributed some momentum behind the local market.
On the local market, miners were mostly reducing recent losses in Australian trading.
Laos-focused miner PanAust showed a rise of 6.1 per cent, after reporting a rise in quarterly copper output at its flagship copper mine in the three months to March.
A rise of 0.5 per cent was shown by Global miner BHP Billiton while rival Rio Tinto showed a gain of 1.2 per cent.
Flinders Mines shares stopped trading, pending on the outcome of court action aimed at preventing the iron ore explorer's $554 million takeover by a Russian steel maker.
Meanwhile, Energy sector firms were trading higher, with Beach Energy shares showing an increase of 3.4 per cent and Santos shares a rise of 1.3 per cent.
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