Australian stocks end 1.51pc higher

SYDNEY: Australian stocks began the week strongly Monday with a 1.51 percent hike after US Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke said growth should pick up in the second half of the year.

At the close, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 was 63.3 points stronger at 4,263.3.

Analysts said the gains were broad-based with the market upbeat following Bernanke's speech at Jackson Hole on Friday, where he also said the Fed would meet in September for two days, instead of the one day originally planned.

"Judging by the market's reaction, it looks like the 'hopes' the market had ahead of Friday's speech have simply been pushed forward to the next Federal Open Market Committee meeting on September 22," said IG Markets' Ben Potter.

"Given the huge amount of data due in the coming weeks, the extra time between now and late September will give the Fed a much better idea of where the economy is positioned."

With the Australian earnings season winding down, the local market focus would quickly return to the global macro issues, he added.

The Australian dollar was trading at 106.22 US cents late in the session, up more than one cent from its 105.02 close on Friday.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011