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Post by bot on Oct 11, 2013 0:09:46 GMT -5
LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Australian stocks gained in early moves Friday, keying off a rally on Wall Street overnight after House Republican leaders proposed a temporary extension of the nation's debt ceiling. The S&P/ASX 200 climbed 64 points, or 1.3%, to 5,211.20, with strong advances in the key financial and mining sectors, where the bulk of issues logged gains of at least 1.6% each. Shares of market heavyweight Commonwealth Bank of Australia rose 1.6% and mining firm BHP Billiton Ltd. tacked on 1.2%. Meanwhile, stock in Westpac Banking Corp. moved up 1.6% after the company agreed to buy the Australian assets of Lloyds Banking Group PLC for 1.45 billion Australian dollars ($1.37 billion). The S&P/ASX 200 was facing a modest, weekly rise of 0.2%.
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