The local share market surged today, on the back of a strong offshore lead and positive momentum in the Asian region. The All Ordinaries Index (XAO) rose 85pts or 1.8pct to 4761.8 while the S&P/ASX 200 Index (XJO) firmed by 89.6pts or 2pct to 4676.2.

Financial stocks recorded impressive gains across the board, with shares in the ANZ (ANZ) rising by 3.4pct to $23.42 and the NAB (NAB) firmer by 2.6pct to $23.91 after a week of volatility. Shares in Westpac (WBC) increased by 2.4pct to $21.96 while the Commonwealth Bank (CBA) was up 1.6pct to $43.90. Macquarie Group (MQG) firmed by 1.6pct to $35.47.

Mining stocks were boosted by strength in commodity prices across the board. Shares in BHP Billiton (BHP) added 2.6pct to $44.33 while Rio Tinto (RIO) gained 2.3pct to $85.01 and Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) was firmer by 0.9pct to $6.41. Newcrest Mining (NCM) added 1.8pct to $40.40 as the price of gold continued to rise in Asian trade. At 4pm AEDT the Comex contract was up 0.4pct to US$1394 an ounce.

Energy stocks also advanced, with the crude oil price holding just under US$87 a barrel. Shares in Woodside Petroleum (WPL) gained 1.8pct to $42.05 while Santos (STO) was up 1.5pct to $12.57 and Oilsearch (OSH) increased by 2.5pct to $7.00. Caltex (CTX) shares added 4.5pct to $13.79 despite the competition watchdog raising concerns about its proposed acquisition of Mobil's fuel terminal in Gladstone.

Telstra (TLS) shares gained 1.1pct to $2.82, recovering from yesterday's losses.

Retail stocks also performed well, despite a slump in retail trade in the month of October. JB Hi-FI (JBH) rose 0.7pct to $18.53 while David Jones (DJS) advanced by 1.1pct to $4.42 and Harvey Norman (HVN) increased by 1.3pct to $3.02. In the consumer staples space, Woolworths (WOW) added 0.2pct to $26.65 while Wesfarmers (WES) firmed by 0.8pct to $31.60.

Nufarm (NUF) continued to rise, adding 3.5pct to $4.80 after reporting improved earnings in 1Q11 and predicting a better 1H than in 2010.

Qantas (QAN) shares added 1.2pct to $2.64, with investors brushing off concerns based on reports of a possible manufacturing flaw in the airline's A380 fleet.

Shares in construction giant Leighton Holdings (LEI) added 3.4pct to $32.31 after winning a 22 year, $5.5 billion contract in India.

Economic data released today revealed retail spending slumped by 1.1pct in October, below forecasts centred on a rise of 0.4pct. Non-food retailing fell by a much larger 2.2pct, the biggest slide in 20 months. Over the first ten months of 2010 overall retail spending has risen by just 1.5 per cent.
Sales by chain stores and other large retailers fell by 0.2pct in seasonally terms in October while sales by smaller retailers fell by 2.6pct, the biggest fall in ten years.

Spending was down across over half the retail categories, with footwear and clothing retailers the worst affected, along with cafes and restaturants.

Australia's trade surplus widened from $1,814 million to $2,625 million in October. Economists had tipped a surplus near $2 billion. Exports rose by 1.1pct with imports falling by 2.5pct. Australia has chalked up trade surpluses of $15.1 billion over just the past seven months.

The Australian dollar ended the day's trade at US96.42c, £0.6178 and €73.58c.

On the market overall, a total of 2.55 billion shares were traded, worth $5.47 billion. 726 were up, 406 were down and 365 were unchanged.

At 4.30pm AEDT on the ASX24, the futures contract was at 4691, up 96pts.

Ahead tonight, pending home sales data is released in the US, along with the weekly jobless claims report