At closing bell, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 advanced 31.59 points, or 0.47%, to 6,771.16. The broader All Ordinaries rose 28.78 points, or 0.41%, to 7,000.43.
The heavily-weighted financials advanced as major banking names rose. ANZ shares closed up 1.3%, Commonwealth Bank added 0.7%, Westpac rose 0.7% and National Australia Bank was up 0.8%. AMP rallied 2.5% after the wealth manager decided to sell the global equities business of its asset management arm to Canadian investment manager Fiera Capital for an undisclosed sum.
Fibre network owner Vocus Group surged 8.6% after it agreed to a scheme implementation deed with Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA) and pension fund Aware Super.
ECONOMIC NEWS: Business confidence hits 11-year high- The NAB business confidence index rose from +12.0 points in January to an 11-year high of +16.4 points in February (long-term average is +5.1 points). And the business conditions index lifted to a 30-month high of +15.4 points from +9.1 points (long-term average is +5.3 points).
Consumer views on economy hit 19-month high -The weekly ANZ-Roy Morgan consumer confidence rating rose by 1.5 per cent to 111.9 points (long-run average since 1990 is 112.6). Confidence is up by 71.4 per cent since hitting record lows of 65.3 on March 29, 2020 (lowest since 1973). Consumer views on 'current economic conditions' rose 3.6 per cent to a 19-month high of 5.3 points.
CURRENCY NEWS: the Australian dollar gained 0.26% to $0.7669.
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