Local stocks soared today, as investor sentiment was boosted by a strong offshore lead and positive momentum in the Asian region. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) added 77.4pts or 1.7pct to close at 4738 while the S&P/ASX 200 Index (XJO) firmed by 79.9pts or 1.7pct to 4686.8.

The materials sector was the standout performer, rising 3pct with shares in BHP Billiton (BHP) up 2.6pct to $40.53 and Rio Tinto (RIO) up 2.6pct to $78.99. Iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) gained 4pct to $5.45 while a record high gold price saw Newcrest Mining (NCM) shares increase by 3.5pct to $42.01.

Energy players also performed well, with the exception of Oilsearch (OSH) which dropped 0.2pct to $6.15. Woodside Petroleum (WPL) advanced by 0.7pct to $44.80 and Caltex (CTX) was up 0.8pct to $11.65.

Financial stocks were a standout, with shares in Westpac (WBC) up 1.3pct to $23.42 and the NAB (NAB) up 2pct to $25.88. Shares in the ANZ (ANZ) increased by 2.1pct to $24.07 and the Commonwealth Bank (CBA) was up 1.2pct to $51.84.

David Jones (DJS) shares recovered following a sell-down yesterday as the upmarket retailer paid out a dividend to shareholders. DJS added 2.3pct by close to $4.98 while Myer (MYR) was up 1.3pct to $3.90.

Telstra (TLS) shares were up 0.8pct to $2.64.

Media stocks also did well, with Newscorp (NWS) firming by 2.3pct to $16.15 and Fairfax (FXJ) firmer by 4.2pct to $1.50.

There was no market moving economic data released today and the Australian dollar closed the day's trade at US97.18c, £0.6108 and €70.19c.

On the market overall, a total of 2.75 billion shares were traded, worth $5.61 billion. 743 were up, 363 were down and 357 were unchanged.

At 4.30pm AEST on the Sydney Futures Exchange, the Share Price Index (SPI) futures contract was at 4699, up 71pts.

Ahead tonight, the ADP employment report is released in the US.