Market hopes that Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton will win the US election has triggered a buying spree on the Australian share market.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was up 0.77 per cent at 1211 AEDT, buoyed by news overnight that the FBI has closed its latest email investigation into Democrat candidate Hillary Clinton and concluded that no charges are warranted.
The FBI developmen, coming just two days before the hotly contested race for the White House, also helped lift US futures and the US dollar.
If Clinton is elected president, there is a strong chance of a US interest rate rise in December.
The financial sector, comprising banks and insurers, was the biggest winner, up 1.54 per cent.
Westpac gained 76 cents, or 2.56 per cent, to $30.47 after reporting annual financial results broadly in line with expectations, while the nation's biggest lender, Commonwealth Bank, jumped $1.27, or 1.79 per cent, to $72.26.
National Australia Bank rose 35.5 cents, or 1.37 per cent, to $26.23, while ANZ added 11.5 cents, or 0.43 per cent, to $27.05.
Within the insurance space, Suncorp gained 18.5 cents, or 1.6 per cent, to $11.73 and Insurance Australia Group added 9.5 cents, or 1.81 per cent, to $5.33.
Resource giants Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton were also up 57 cents to $53.88 and 31 cents to $22.58, respectively.
KEY FACTS:
* At 1211 AEDT, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was up 39.8 points, or 0.77 per cent, at 5,220.6 points.
* The broader All Ordinaries index was up 37.2 points, or 0.71 per cent, at 5,300.3 points.
* The December share price index futures contract was up 49 points at 5,202 points, with 20,042 contracts traded.
* National turnover was 1.14 billion securities traded, worth $1.77 billion.
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