SYDNEY: The Australian stocks started strongly, after further increases on Wall Street overnight. The ASX 200 had added 61 points, or nearly 1.2 per cent, to 5,369 shortly before midday (AEDT). The All Ordinaries index was up 59 points (just over 1.1 per cent) at 5,346. Mining stocks were leading the gains, with Rio Tinto rising 2.9 per cent.
BHP Billiton was up 1.7 per cent, after advising investors this morning that increased production for its key commodities once again in the final six months of last year.
Caltex was up 3.4 per cent and Woodside 0.25 per cent, but Oil Search had fallen 2.1 per cent and Santos was 0.7 per cent lower.
By that stage Tapis crude oil in Singapore has also followed the overnight falls in other key benchmarks, slipping 1.3 per cent to $US49.48 a barrel.
Back on the share market, the major banks were all higher, led by a gain of 1.2 per cent for NAB.
Westpac and the Commonwealth had each risen 1 per cent, while ANZ was up 0.7 per cent.
Telstra was 0.8 per cent higher and the airlines had both risen, by 3.4 per cent for Virgin Australia and 2.6 per cent for Qantas.
The Australian dollar had slipped a fraction during the morning to around 81.6 US cents.
shanghai shares start week with losses 25 june 2018
Hong Kong, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 25th Jun, 2018 ) :Hong Kong and mainland Chinese stocks fell on...