The Australian share market turned around in afternoon trade, to post another session of gains. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) rose 14.7pts or 0.3pct to close at 4404.1 while the S&P/ASX 200 Index (XJO) gained 14.1pts or 0.3pct to finish at 4370.1. Over the course of the trading week, the XAO lost 1.3pct.

In the financial sector, Westpac (WBC) continued to post gains, rising a further 0.9pct to $21.75 while the Commonwealth Bank (CBA) added 0.5pct to $49.21 and the NAB (NAB) gained 0.2pct to $23.05. The ANZ (ANZ) closed down 0.1pct to $22.44. Macquarie Group (MQG) finished lower by 0.8pct to $36.50.

The mining giants lost ground, despite firmer metals trade in London. BHP Billiton (BHP) fell 0.2pct to $37.30 while Rio Tinto (RIO) was off 0.4pct to $69.30.

A Papua New Guinea court today approved the $10.65 billion takeover of Lihir Gold (LGL) by Newcrest Mining (NCM). NCM welcomed the move, which it said was the final step in the merger process, after LGL shareholders voted in favour of the deal earlier this week. However both companies lost ground today, NCM fell 2pct to $35.28 while LGL was off 2pct to $4.38.

The energy sector finished flat, with falls in Woodside Petroleum (WPL) offsetting gains made from Santos (STO) and Oilsearch (OSH). WPL eased by 0.9pct to $42.10 while STO added 1.6pct to $14.30 and OSH added 0.5pct to $5.73.

Telstra (TLS) closed steady at $2.76.

Harvey Norman (HVN) today delivered its FY result, a net profit of $231.4 million, up 8pct. The result was below expectations and HVN shares fell 0.3pct to $3.53.

Fairfax (FXJ) reported a FY net profit of $282.12 million, up from a loss of $380 million the prior year. Revenue was down 4.5pct, but underlying profit rose 23pct. FXJ shareholders will receive a final dividend of 1.4c per share. FXJ added 4.4pct to $1.42.

Ten Network Holdings (TEN) continued to be sold off, down 6.4pct to $1.38 while NewsCorp (NWS) dropped 0.5pct to $15.54.

No economic data was released today and at 4pm AEST the Australian dollar was worth US88.74c, £0.5724 and €69.76c.

On the market overall, a total of 1.87 billion shares were traded, worth $6.53 billion. 560 were up, 457 were down and 374 were unchanged.

At 4.15pm AEST on the Sydney Futures Exchange, the Share Price Index (SPI) was at 4348, up 7pts.

Ahead tonight, US GDP figures are released along with University of Michigan confidence numbers. US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will deliver a speech on the economy at a top-level gathering of the world´s central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.