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The Australian share market staged a recovery today despite continuing uncertainty among investors about the extent of the trouble on Wall Street
At the 1615 AEST close, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 70.6 points to 6011.8 while the All Ordinaries increased by 60.9 points to 6050.3.
On
the Sydney Futures Exchange, the September share price index contract lifted 62 points to 5991 on a volume of 39,850 contracts.
Today's recovery came after the Australian stock market plunged yesterday, along with global markets, posting its biggest one-day fall since trading resumed on Wall Street after the September 2001 terrorist attacks.
Aequs Securities senior institutional dealer Ric Klusman said continuing uncertainty was causing massive volatility swings as investors awaited more direction from US markets.
"We were up 120 (points) this morning, we went down to a low of 5903 - that's hundred points off this," Mr Klusman said shortly before the close.
"It's been all over the place."
Mr Klusman pointed out that Macquarie Bank had dropped lower than its close yesterday before recovering, while major miners BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto went in different directions today.
"It's all over the place - people are running by rumour and innuendo. They don't know what to do.
"Massive swings, yo-yoing market, people scared about what will happen overseas. Basically everybody's waiting to see what will happen tonight (on Wall Street).
The world's biggest miner, BHP Billiton, gained 29 cents at $36.25, but Rio Tinto finished $2.48 cents down to $88.72.
Adding momentum to Rio's decline, just minutes before the market closed it reported a 14.3 per cent dip its first half net profit.
The major banks climbed back, with National Australia Bank up 92 cents to $38.00, Commonwealth was 95 cents better at $53.20, ANZ 43 cents richer to $27.95 and Westpac 37 cents higher at $25.92.
At 1625 AEST the price of spot gold in Sydney was US$664.4 per fine ounce, up US$3.20 on yesterday's close.
The rise in the gold price strengthened most gold stocks, with Newcrest rising 53 cents to $24.37 and Lihir gaining one cent to $3.00.
But Newmont gave up four cents to $4.79.
Engineering and construction firm Downer EDI plunged more than 16 per cent or $1.16 to $5.85 after managing director Stephen Gillies quit and the company announced a big profit downgrade.
Engineering group GRD Ltd gave up 29 cents to $2.41 after rejecting a conditional takeover proposal from Transfield Services.
Logistics firm Brambles improved 31 cents to $11.16 after announcing plans to expand its pallet business in the United States and Europe and forecasting double-digit revenue growth over the medium term.
Overnight US stocks rose in a last-minute rally as investors snapped up shares beaten down by worries over deteriorating credit conditions.
In the final minutes of trading, the Dow shot up around 180 points and then trimmed a modest slice off that to close up more than one per cent.
The Dow Jones industrial average shot up 150.38 points, or 1.14 per cent, to end at 13,362.37.
The Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 10.54 points, or 0.72 per cent, to finish at 1,465.81 while the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 7.60 points, or 0.30 per cent, to close at 2,553.87.
- AAP