Australian share market closed friday july 9 2011 on high note

Australian share market closed friday july 9 2011 on high note : THE Australian sharemarket ended firmer yesterday thanks to expected positive employment numbers due in the US last night that boosted hopes of a recovery in the world's largest economy.

The S&P/ASX 200 ended up 1 per cent at 4654.7.

"While there is a lot of uncertainty surrounding the government's carbon tax, which will be unveiled on Sunday, it's very encouraging to see the market holding on to gains on a Friday, especially ahead of (US) non-farm payrolls this evening," said Ben Potter, market strategist at IG Markets.

"The recent trend has been for Friday afternoon profit-taking, so it's very encouraging to see participants willing to hold positions over the weekend."

The Australian dollar closed marginally higher, as market players stayed on the sidelines ahead of the key US employment report. At the close, the Australian dollar was trading at US1.0777, up US0.26c from Thursday. The Australian dollar opened at $US1.07, benefiting from positive commentary from European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet that eased fears about European sovereign debt.

On the stock market, gains were seen across the board, with the Australian banks ending modestly higher. Westpac ended the day up 1.7 per cent at $22.24, National Australia Bank ended up 0.4 per cent at $25.12, Commonwealth Bank finished up 0.7 per cent at $51.77 and ANZ closed 0.6 per cent higher at $21.90. Mining giant BHP Billiton was up 1.2 per cent to $44.95 after the company said its Port Hedland port facility, the world's second-largest iron ore port after Brazil's Sao Luis, would resume operations after the death of a contractor.

Rio Tinto added 90c to $84.35 and Blue Scope Steel lost 5c, or 3.57 per cent, to $1.35 as investors pulled out ahead of tomorrow's outlining of the carbon tax by the federal government .

The market held on to gains seen early in the session, after data showed private businesses in the US added more jobs in June than expected. The Automatic Data Processing report said: "June's figures suggest that the economic recovery, which slipped in the spring, might have found new traction in early summer."

Despite the market's gains, the amount of trading in the Australian stockmarket was still weak.

"The stockmarket has seen cautious to slightly optimistic trading over the past week, with low volumes very much underpinning a lack of overall conviction on the local bourse," CMC markets analyst Ben Le Brun said. "This theme has continued today with the market finding positive momentum, but a distinct lack of conviction in overall trading volumes."

The Australian government is preparing to unveil one of the world's biggest carbon pricing and trading schemes tomorrow, running the gauntlet of stiff political and industry opposition.

The media has reported the coal sector alone will receive $1.275 billion in compensation, while steelmakers will receive carbon permits covering up to 95 per cent of their emissions. The government will also offer financial guarantees to power stations in danger of shutting.