THE share market has opened strongly following positive leads from offshore trading overnight, with all key indices and commodities prices higher.
By 10.18am (AEDT), the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was 42.4 points higher, or 0.9 per cent, at 4766.6 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index climbed 41.7 points, or 0.86 per cent, to 4873.6 points.
On the ASX 24, the March share price index futures contract was up 39 points to 0.85 points, with 9528 contracts traded.
US stock markets rose on Wednesday to their best finish since 2007/08, buoyed by embattled Portugal's bond auction success and jumps in banking and energy stocks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 83.56 points to 11,755.44, its highest closing level since August 11, 2008.
The broader S&P 500 index added 11.48 to reach 1285.96, a level last seen at the end of August 2008, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index put on 20.5 points to 2737.33, its best close since November 2007.
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On the local market, the major retail banks started the day higher, bouyed by news that Portugal borrowed $US1.6 billion ($1.62 billion) at a lower long-term interest rate than many expected.
That helped reassure investors concerned that Portugal may become the third European country to require a bailout after Greece and Ireland.
At 10.15am, Commonwealth had gained 45c at $50.80, ANZ was up 18c at $22.90, NAB added 16c to $23.95 and Westpac was up 15c at $22.13.
The major miners were higher, too. Rio Tinto added $1.51, or 1.77 per cent, to $86.70 and BHP Billiton climbed 51c to $45.71.
Austock Securities senior client adviser Michael Heffernan said early gains were made across the board with the market "firing on all four cylinders".
"As you might expect, putting the floods to one side, you had very strong movements in overseas markets, and European enthusiasm with the Portugal situation is not looking as dire as anticipated," he said.
"I'd say we're going to finish close to one per cent, or at least three-quarters of a per cent in the green."
Mr Heffernan said investors had thrown off flood fears in light of strong commodities and offshore results overnight.
"The floods, while it is a human disaster and will impact insurance companies, the impact on other major stocks is now being seem as something more temporary than long term," he said.
After being sold down in recent days, insurers recovered lost ground with Suncorp adding 12c, or 1.45 per cent, to $8.41 by 10.37am.
Insurance Australia Group (IAG) rose 5c, or 1.34 per cent, to $3.79.
IAG said it had received around 2400 claims from rains and flooding in south-east Queensland in January, and 1200 in December but it was too early to estimate the likely cost of claims from the flooding.
"If 10,000 houses are affected, we are talking probably over a billion dollars (of claims)," Mr Heffernan said.
"It has to be a negative in the short term ... on the other hand down the track they will raise their premiums, so it is not all bad for them."
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