Australian markets

The Australian share market closed in the black for the first time in the past six trading sessions, triggered by strong gains in Tokyo and buoyed by bargain hunting. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 29.5 points, or 0.65 per cent, at 4,558.2 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index was up 34.1 points, or 0.74 per cent, at 4,644 points. On the ASX 24, the March share price index futures contract was 32 points higher at 4,567 points, with 125,885 contracts traded. Rio Tinto Ltd-majority owned Energy Resources of Australia was up 73 cents, or 10.33 per cent, at $7.80 and Extract Resources added 46 cents, or 5.75 per cent, to $8.46. Paladin Energy gained 44 cents, or 13.5 per cent, to $3.70 after saying in late trade that it continued to believe the medium and long-term outlook for nuclear power remained positive. Rio Tinto was up $1.53 at $78.94 and fellow mining giant BHP Billiton put on 60 cents to $43.57.

Banking stocks were mixed, with Commonwealth Bank up 25 cents at $50.00 and Westpac down 13 cents to $22.46, while ANZ inched one cent lower to $22.62 and NAB was seven cents firmer at $24.35. Among energy stocks, oil and gas giant Woodside was up 37 cents at $41.95 while coal miner Macarthur Coal put on 59 cents, or 5.69 per cent, to $10.95. The spot price of gold in Sydney was $1,397.40 per fine ounce, down $17.37 from Tuesday's closing price of $1,414.77. Preliminary national turnover was 4.49 billion securities worth $7.40 billion, with 844 stocks up, 404 down and 295 unchanged.

The Australian dollar was weaker late Wednesday weighed down by ongoing uncertainty in Japan as its nuclear emergency continued to play out. The Australian dollar was changing hands at $0.9932, down from $0.9950 late Tuesday. Against the Japanese yen, the Australian dollar traded at 80.14, down from 81.185.

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