PERTH: The Australian sharemarket is eyeing a fifth straight day of gains, trading substantially higher at noon, as investor sentiment rallies on dovish US Federal Reserve meeting minutes.
At 12.05pm (AEDT), the benchmark S & P/ASX200 added 38.9 points, or 0.75 per cent, to 5,249.3, while the broader All Ordinaries rose 38.8 points, or 0.74 per cent, to 5,280.2 points.
US stocks were up almost one per cent, after the release of the minutes of the US Federal Reserve September policy meeting, at which it decided against raising its key interest rate.
Fed officials held off on raising short-term rates at the meeting because of nagging worries about when inflation would return to 2 per cent after running below their official target for more than three years.
The Australian dollar surged as the US dollar slipped on the news, jumping to US72.73c. The peak represents the currency’s highest mark since September 18.
