The Australian share market ran out of steam in late afternoon trade, however it still managed to notch up a third successive win, on the back of a strong lead from Wall Street. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) gained 9.5pts or 0.2pct to 4513.9 while the S&P/ASX 200 Index (XJO) firmed by 11.3pts or 0.3pct to 4497.4.

Financial stocks were the strongest performers, with the financial sector rising by 0.7pct. Shares in Westpac (WBC) rose 2.4pct to $23.70, despite the bank hosing down speculation it's about to embark on a strategic push into Asia. The Commonwealth Bank (CBA) rose by 1.2pct to $52.08 while the NAB (NAB) was up 0.8pct to $24.97 and the ANZ (ANZ) increased by 0.9pct to $22.93. Shares in Macquarie Group (MQG) fell 1.1pct to $39.30 ahead of the group's Annual General Meeting on Friday.

Insurance players dragged however. Insurance Australia Group (IAG) issued a profit warning, saying it expects its FY10 net profit to fall by around 50pct. Shares in IAG fell 4.3pct to $3.35 while QBE (QBE), which issued a profit warning yesterday, dipped by 3.2pct to $16.43.

The materials sector eased by 0.4pct despite firmer metals trade in London overnight. BHP Billiton (BHP) fell 0.2pct to $39.75 while Rio Tinto (RIO) was off 0.2pct to $70.09. Iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) fell 2.3pct to $4.27. And gold stocks eased, with Newcrest Mining (NCM) down 0.9pct to $33.06 and Lihir Gold (LGL) off 0.5pct to $4.09.

The energy sector finished barely changed, with the Nymex crude contract also remaining steady around US$79 a barrel. However Oilsearch (OSH) rose 1.5pct to $5.93 after reporting a lift in 2Q revenue, thanks to higher oil prices.

Telstra (TLS) shares rose 1.9pct to $3.27 as the company's CEO David Thodey indicated more jobs were on the line as the telco moves to simplify its business and cut costs.

Property group Australand (ALZ) rose 0.8pct to $2.60 after reporting a 127pct rise in 1H10 net profit.

The Aussie dollar hit a two and a half month high as a rebound in US home sales lifted investor sentiment for high-yielding assets like our commodity driven currency. At 4pm AEST the Aussie was worth US90.16c, £0.5817 and €69.4c.

On the market overall, a total of 2.09 billion shares were traded, worth $5.59 billion. 518 were up, 500 were down and 361 were unchanged.

At 4.15pm AEST on the Sydney Futures Exchange, the Share Price Index (SPI) futures contract was at 4472, down 4pts.

Ahead tonight, the Case-Shiller home price survey is released in the US, along with consumer confidence figures. BP, DuPont, Office Depot and Domino's Pizza are among the companies reporting earnings.