Australian shares rose 1.2 percent to their highest close in 12 weeks on Monday as encouraging US economic data and rising commodity prices added to investor optimism. The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 51.1 points to 4,272.6, according to the latest data, its highest close since May 14. US jobs data on Friday showed that non-farm payrolls rose by 163,000, surpassing analysts' expectations.
The Federal Reserve signalled last week that more support could be on the way if conditions deteriorated, while the European Central Bank made similar comments. Top miners made substantial gains, with BHP Billiton gaining 2.2 percent to A$32.00 and Rio Tinto rising 4.1 percent to A$54.13. "The mining sector is a cyclical sector, it's a high beta sector and whenever you have a strong up day, you tend to see the materials' names outperform because they're the ones that are leveraged to the global growth story," said Cameron Peacock, market analyst at IG Markets.
The big four banks all edged up, with the fourth biggest lender, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, up 0.9 percent to A$23.56. Shares in Integra Mining jumped 27 percent to A$0.40 after Silver Lake Resources said it will acquire the company, valuing each share at A$0.45 making the company worth A$426 million ($450 million). Silver Lake dropped 8.5 percent.
Fortescue Metals rose 1.2 percent to A$4.26 after the company secured A$1.44 billion for the expansion of its iron ore operations in Pilbara, Western Australia, according to a report from the Sydney Morning Herald. New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index edged up 0.4 percent or 15.2 points to 3,563.2.
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