The S&P/ASX 200 index finished the day 78.5 points or 1.73% higher on 4608, while the All Ordinaries followed suit gaining 80 points to 4659.8.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 72.73 points or 0.6% higher on 12,261.42, the S&P 500 index jumped 10.74 points or 0.83% to 1307.41 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 11.18 points or 0.41% to 2740.49.
“The passage of the Greek vote on austerity does clear off doubt regarding the liquidity situation for the time being, leading markets to feel a little better,”Bloomberg quoted Hong Kong-based Principal Global Investors portfolio manager Binay Chandgothia.
“The key issue of solvency remains and is likely to come back.”
The big news of the day was the termination of the planned merger between the Toronto Stock Exchange and the main London bourse.
Meanwhile, closer to home, some of Australia’s leading economists criticised the Gillard government’s management of the two-speed economy, reportedly saying the current policies were not preparing the nation for the future.
In the first session of the Australian-Melbourne Institute’s Growth Challenge conference delegates were told the government should work towards the establishment of a sovereign wealth fund to help stabilise the income volatility created by the mining boom.
The major miners also closed higher with BHP Billiton up A58c to $43.73, Rio Tinto gained $1.36 to $82.89, Fortescue Metals Group was up 15c to $6.35, OZ Minerals increased 36c to $13.21 and Paladin Energy gained 9c to $2.52.
Meanwhile, Lynas Corporation was placed in a trading halt pending the release of an independent technical review on its planned advanced minerals plant in Malaysia, while Voyager Resources faced a “please explain” from the ASX after its shares rose from 3.4c on Wednesday to 4.8c today.
Reports by Bloomberg said Lynas will only be granted licenses for the Malaysian plant once it implements recommendations made by a panel of exports which could take up to two years to complete.
The panel, appointed by the International Atomic Energy Agency, found no breach of radiation standards, according to a government statement quoted by Bloomberg.
The Australian miner must satisfy 11 conditions, including environmental monitoring and long-term waste management.
Marathon Resources and Athena Resources both had share price runs today up 25% or 5c respectively to 25c on no news.
As for gold stocks, Australia’s largest locally owned miner Newcrest Mining closed 66c higher on $37.76, Kingsgate Consolidated jumped 32c to $8.04 and AngloGold Ashanti dropped 20c to $7.83.
At 4.18pm (AEST) the spot price of the precious metal was down $1.50 to $1510.825 an ounce, while the Australian dollar hit a 26-year high and continued to trade above parity on $US1.07.
