Australian shares rose 1.1 percent on Tuesday, marking a firm start for the first day of trade for 2012, led by resource stocks and financials after strong performances by markets in Germany and France. "A good way to start the trading year off on a positive note, up over 1 percent. Clearly the catalyst for that was the very strong performance of the European markets last night, particularly the German market," said Michael Heffernan, senior client adviser and strategist, Austock Group.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index lost a hefty 14.5 percent in 2011, the first back-to-back annual loss in 30 years, hit by the debt crisis in Europe. Top miner BHP Billiton rose 1.1 percent, while Rio Tinto gained 1.8 percent. Australia's biggest four banks also had a good start to the year, with Commonwealth Bank of Australia rising 0.8 percent and National Australia Bank up 1.7 percent.
The retail sector continued to lag with Harvey Norman falling 1.1 percent and David Jones down 2.1 percent. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index rose 44.6 points to 4,101.2, according the latest available data. The New Zealand market was shut for a public holiday and trading resumes on Wednesday.
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