The Australian share market rallied today, rising 1pct. However volumes were low due to a Bank holiday in NSW and the ACT. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) gained 47pts to close at 4554.4 while the S&P/ASX 200 Index (XJO) was up 48.1pts or 1.1pct to 4541.6.

The financial sector increased by 1.3pct, despite weakness in financial shares offshore on Friday night. Shares in Westpac (WBC) were up 0.9pct to $24.20 while the Commonwealth Bank (CBA) rose 1.6pct to $53.41. Shares in the NAB (NAB) added 0.7pct to $25.31 while the ANZ (ANZ) increased by 1.2pct to $23.32. Macquarie Group (MQG) was firmer by 1.3pct to $37.67.

Miners added momentum thanks to firmer metals trade in London on Friday night. BHP Billiton (BHP) gained 0.5pct to $40.30 while Rio Tinto (RIO) was up 0.8pct to $71.15. Shares in Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) added 2.6pct to close at $4.40. A rally in the Comex gold price saw Newcrest Mining (NCM) put on 2.8pct to $33.62 while Lihir Gold (LGL) was firmer by 2.7pct to $4.18.

The energy sector increased by 1pct with crude oil hovering near US$79 a barrel. Shares in Woodside Petroleum (WPL) gained 0.4pct to $41.75 while Santos (STO) was up 1pct to $13.43 and Oilsearch (OSH) gained 1.9pct to $5.95.

A David Jones (DJS) employee today announced she would be filing legal proceedings against the upmarket retailer and its former CEO Mark McInnes. McInnes resigned in June after admitting to behaviour that was ´´unbecoming of a chief executive". DJS today reaffirmed its profit guidance for FY10 and FY11 and said it would be defending the claims vigorously. DJS shares slumped 0.8pct to $4.76. Rival Myer Limited (MYR) closed steady at $3.45.

Telstra (TLS) shares rebounded, up 1.6pct to $3.27.

Graincorp (GNC) and AWB (AWB) shares rallied, in the wake of their merger announcement last week. GNC added 4.6pct to $5.91 while AWB was higher by 3.5pct to $1.025.

In the industrials space, Crane Group (BRG) rose 4.9pct to $8.79 after announcing it expects a recovery in FY11. FY10 profit fell 27pct to $31.9 million.

Solomen Lew's investment group Premier Investments (PMV) fell 1.6pct to $6.28 after its FY10 earnings disappointed.

New home sales fell by 5.1 pct to a 17-month low in June after slumping 6.4 pct in May. Free-standing house sales fell by 6.6 pct while new apartment sales rose by 10.3 pct.

The TD Securities monthly inflation gauge rose by just 0.1 pct in July after a 0.3 pct lift in June. The annual rate fell from 3.6 pct to 2.8 pct.
The Performance of Manufacturing index rose by 1.5 points in July to 54.4 after falling 3.4 points in June. Any reading above 50 means the manufacturing sector is expanding. But of concern, the employment index fell to a seven-month low.

The Chinese purchasing managers index eased from 52.1 to a 17-month low of 51.2 in July. The July reading was slightly above market expectations.

The Australian Institute of Petroleum reports that the average Australian petrol price eased for the sixth straight week, down by 0.4 cents to a five-month low of 125.5 cents a litre.

The Australian dollar hit US91cents today - a near three month high. At 4pm, the Aussie was worth US90.95c, £0.5776 and €69.53c.

On the market overall, a total of 1.49 billion shares were traded, worth $3.29 billion. 663 were up, 377 were down and 358 were unchanged.

At 4.15pm AEST on the Sydney Futures Exchange, the Share Price Index (SPI) futures contract was at 4515, up 52pts.

Ahead tonight, construction spending and the ISM manufacturing index are released in the US.