The local share market managed a slight gain today, as strong employment data pushed the Aussie dollar to a 27 month high. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) gained 8.2pts or 0.2pct to 4746.2 while the S&P/ASX 200 Index (XJO) added 4.5pts or 0.1pct to 4691.3.

The banks were the biggest impediment to the overall market, with the financial sector falling 0.3pct. Shares in Westpac (WBC) lost 0.5pct to $23.30 while the Commonwealth Bank (CBA) shed 0.7pct to $51.50 and the NAB (NAB) fell 0.2pct to $25.84. The ANZ (ANZ) added 0.3pct to $24.14 while Macquarie Group (MQG) was lower by 0.1pct to $36.62.

Mining stocks fared better. Continued strength on the London Metals Exchange saw BHP Billiton (BHP) add 1pct to $40.95 while Rio Tinto (RIO) firmed by 0.7pct to $79.54. Iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) firmed by 1.5pct to $5.53 while Oz Minerals (OZL) was up 1.3pct to $1.56.

The price of gold continued to rise, and during Asian trade was up a further 0.5pct to US$1353.60 an ounce. Newcrest Mining (NCM) shares added 0.7pct to $42.32.

Energy stocks were mixed. At 4pm AEST the Nymex contract was at US$83.60 a barrel. Shares in Woodside Petroluem (WPL) fell 0.4pct to $44.64 while Oilsearch (OSH) was up 2.1pct to $6.28.

Consumer related stocks were mixed. Woolworths (WOW) gained 0.7pct to $30.07 while Wesfarmers (WES) closed down 0.3pct to $33.73. David Jones (DJS) shares added 0.4pct to $5.00 while Myer Limited (MYR) was down 0.3pct to $3.89.

Cancer therapy developer Prima BioMed (PRR) today appointed prominent businesswoman Lucy Turnbull as the company´s chairwoman. PRR shares rose 12pct to $0.14.

Healthcare stocks in general though were lower. CSL Limited (CSL) was down 0.9pct to $33.19 while Cochlear (COH) was lower by 1.4pct to $70.21.

Companies which rely on a strong American dollar lost ground. James Hardie (JHX) fell 2.3pct to $5.66 while Westfield (WDC) lost 1.5pct to $12.41.

The Australian dollar came close to the 27 year high of US98.49c today but failed to breach it. The intraday high for the local currency was US98.48c, while at 4pm AEST the Aussie was worth US98.35c. It was also buying £0.6194 and €70.63c.

On the market overall, a total of 2.46 billion shares were traded, worth $5.12 billion. 618 were up, 467 were down and 372 were unchanged.

Ahead tonight, consumer credit data is released in the US.