The Australian sharemarket finished in the black today following a somewhat positive hint from the minutes of the RBA meeting released today, suggesting interest rates are on hold for the foreseeable future.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index is up 58 points at 5400 and the All Ordinaries Index is 55 points at 5465.90.
In New Zealand, the benchmark benchmark Index NZX50 closed 31 points or 0.9% up at 3,502.
In New York, the Dow was 23 points down at 12,302 and Nasdaq also down, 14 points at 2,275.
In local stocks, QBE Insurance Group informed the market of its approach to Insurance Australia Group (IAG), a proposal for a merger which was rejected by the board of IAG. Shares in QBE slumped 30 cents to $22.90, while IAG shares surged 33 cents or 8.5% to $4.19.
Following a negative start in the morning, financials recovered to finish in the black. Commonwealth Bank gained $1.09 to $41.58,, Westpac Bank gained 9 cents to $22.55 while National Australia Bank lost 10 cents to $28.40 and ANZ shed 5 cents to $20.40..
Oil Search sold some of its assets in Middle East and North Africa to Kuwait Energy for $200 million. Shares in Oil Search were 22 cents or 4.6% up at $4.99.
Packaging giant Amcor announced it is to sell its two flexible packaging plants in the UK and Sweden to private equity. Shares in AMC ended 6 cents up at $6.67.
Miners were up, with BHP Billiton finishing 35 cents at $42, and Rio Tinto losing 19 cents to $138.11.
