Thanks HLLFinancial stocks led the Australian share market...

Thanks HLL

Financial stocks led the Australian share market higher at noon, with the resources and retail sectors also enjoying gains.

All Ordinaries index had risen 39 points, or 0.86 per cent, to 4,609 points.

Analyst said there was robust trading on the local bourse after a lacklustre session on Monday and despite the lack of a lead from Wall Street, with US markets closed overnight for the President's Day public holiday. A very strong trading update from Westpac before market open has helped our banking stocks lead the way.

NAB?s monthly business survey showed that business confidence rose 7 index points in January to a read of 15. Business conditions, however, fell 7 points to a read of 3 for the month.

Steel maker OneSteel Ltd (OST) has reported a 49% decline in profit for the first half and says it expects the rest of the financial year to remain challenging. Net profit after tax for the six months to December 31, 2009 fell to $117 million down from $228 million for the first half of fiscal 2009. Underlying net profit for the period came to $119 million, a drop of 45% from the $215 million recorded for the same period a year ago. OneSteel declared an interim dividend of 5 cents a share unfranked. OneSteel?s profit for the 2009 financial year came to $229.5 million.

Property major Mirvac Group (MGR) has posted a profit for the first half of fiscal 2010 and raised its full year earnings forecast. Net profit for the six months to December 31, 2009 came to $47.16 million, after reporting a loss of $645.7 million for the same period last year. Managing Director Nick Collishaw says the results show that the company is well positioned to deliver its earnings guidance, which it has upgraded to 9.2 cents a share. Shares in Mirvac Group rose 1.75% to $1.45.

The best performing sector at midday is the Financials Excluding Real Estate Investment Trust index, up 97 points at 5,275.

The worst performing sector at midday is the Health Care index, down 96 points to 8,341.

Gold is trading at US$1,102.75 an ounce and the Aussie dollar is trading at 88.83 US cents.

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