Aussie shares rally after positive US lead

The Australian share market has opened one per cent higher after Wall Street rallied on talk of broader monetary stimulus in Europe and good home sales figures.

Upbeat US home sales data and speculation that the European Central Bank may buy corporate bonds to tackle slowing inflation rates in the region boosted US markets overnight, CommSec market analyst Juliana Roadley said.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.31 per cent, the broad-based S&P 500 rose 1.96 per cent, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 2.40 per cent.

The positive sentiment has spread to the Australian share market with all sectors opening higher on Wednesday.

"The US is starting to see good growth in housing, which had been lagging in the last month," Ms Roadley said.

"And all this talk about a new bond buying program in Europe has also lifted the market higher.

"The oil price moved higher in US markets which has given our energy sector a real boost."

Santos rose 14 cents, or 1.09 per cent, to $12.94, while Woodside Petroleum gained 27 cents, or 0.68 per cent, to $39.95.

Mining giant BHP Billiton climbed 37 cents, or 1.1 per cent, to $34.12, after announcing a strong production result and expectations it'll reach its target of 16 per cent production growth over the two years to the end of the 2015 financial year.

Rio Tinto surged $1.06, or 1.77 per cent, to $61.03 and Fortescue Metals was 13 cents higher at $3.68.

Among the banks, Commonwealth Bank added 46 cents to $77.64, Westpac gained 28 cents to $33.69, ANZ rose 30 cents to $32.77 and National Australia Bank lifted 22 cents to $33.74.

Telstra was up 2.5 cents to $5.445.

The market is also waiting for official inflation data for the September quarter, due out at 1130 AEDT.

KEY FACTS

• At 1025 AEDT on Wednesday, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 53.1 points, or 1.00 per cent, at 5,378.1 points.

• The broader All Ordinaries index was up 52.6 points, or 0.99 per cent, at 5,365.1 points.

• The December share price index futures contract was up 48 points at 5,359 points, with 9,128 contracts traded.

• National turnover was 257 million securities worth $431 million.