SYDNEY: The Australian sharemarket was higher at noon as investors digested a flurry of corporate reports, with consumer and mining stocks leading the bounce higher.
Consumer discretionary stocks were buoyed by a strong earnings report from JB Hi-Fi, while the healthcare sector was weighed down by a weak outlook from Ansell.
At 12.05pm (AEST), the benchmark S & P/ASX200 was up 27.1 points, or 0.49 per cent, at 5501.9, while the broader All Ordinaries gained 25.3 points, or 0.46 per cent, to 5497.6.
Consumer discretionaries were up 0.97 per cent as a sector.
JB Hi-Fi shares rallied 9.03 per cent to $21.38, after the electronics retailer lifted its full-year profit and forecast even further sales growth in the year ahead.
Materials meanwhile rallied 0.38 per cent.
BHP Billiton lost 0.15 per cent to $25.89, while Rio Tinto gained 1.39 per cent to $5.014.
Financials gained 0.67 per cent, as the banks recovered from Friday’s sell-off.
National Australia Bank rallied 1.04 per cent to $33.61, after increasing its cash profit by 9 per cent.
Bendigo Bank fell 4.09 per cent to $12.44, as the lender lifted its full-year cash profit but saw its margins come under pressure from increased competition and low interest rates.
ANZ shares added 1.49 per cent to $30.59, while Commonwealth Bank shares were up 1.2 at $82.275.
Westpac gained 1.05 per cent to $32.69.
