The Australian share market closed higher on Wednesday on investor optimism that debt-burdened Greece will access more bailout money and avoid generating more financial turmoil.

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At the close, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index had risen 24.4 points, or 0.54 per cent, to 4,532.6 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index was up 25.6 points, or 0.56 per cent, at 4,590.8 points. On the ASX 24, the September share price index futures contract was 12 points higher at 4,521 points, with 28,686 contracts traded. Greece has moved a step closer to receiving a second round of bailout money to tackle the nation's spiralling debt, after Prime Minister George Papandreou's government survived a confidence vote in parliament by 155 votes to 143.

The market had also given a tick to Qantas Airways, after the national carrier released its revised estimates for annual profit. Another positive factor for the Australian market was that China's top economic planning agency had said inflation there would rise in June, but the situation was controllable. Shares in Qantas Airways lifted 0.5 cents to $1.83 after the airline group flagged a before tax profit of at least half a billion dollars in 2010/11. In the resources sector, global miner BHP Billiton rose 46 cents to $42.46 and Rio Tinto climbed $1.15 to $79.79. Aquila Resources fell four cents to $7.31 as relations with Brazilian resources giant Vale continued to deteriorate, with the parties battling in the courts over their joint ventures. Among the major banks, the Commonwealth lifted 35 cents at $50.61, Westpac improved nine cents to $21.52, ANZ advanced 17 cents to $21.72, and National Australia Bank stepped forward four cents to $24.68. Preliminary national turnover at was 4.38 billion securities worth $5.4 billion, with 718 stocks up, 435 down and 389 unchanged. On Wall Street on Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 109.63 points, or 0.91 per cent, to 12,190.01 points.

The Australian dollar nudged slightly higher Wednesday as the Greek parliament's passing of a key confidence vote in the country's government helped risk-sensitive assets. Australian government bonds slid on the development, which lifted hopes for similar support later in the month for a Greek austerity package. The Australian currency has held up recently in spite of still-strong Greek debt concerns, with leaders in Greece saying that receiving the next tranche of international aid is contingent on passage of the austerity plan before a July 3 meeting of euro-zone finance ministers.The Australian dollar was at $1.0610, up from $1.0573 late Tuesday and up from a morning low of $1.0571. Against the Japanese yen, the Australian dollar was at 85.16, up from 84.79.

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