Australian shares open higher

THE Australian share market opened higher after a positive lead on Wall Street sparked by the apparent downfall of Libyan ruler Muammar Gaddafi. At 1016 AEST today, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 31.5 points, 0.77 per cent, at 4113.8, while the broader All Ordinaries index was up 33 points, 0.8 per cent, at 4183.8. On the ASX 24, the September share price index futures contract was up 22 points at 4098, with 12,072 contracts traded. Commsec market analyst Steven Daghlian said there was little movement in early trade and the market was likely to be taking a slightly positive lead from the US. US stocks made slight gains on Monday, after an exuberant early rally sparked by the apparent downfall of Gaddafi gave way to gloom over the US economy. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 37.08 points (0.3 per cent) to 10,854.73 in closing trade. Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar. End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar. The broader S&P 500 edged up 0.27 point (0.0 per cent) to 1123.80, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite climbed 3.54 points (0.2 per cent) to 2345.38. "US markets gained slightly, but nothing really significant (happened overnight), European markets were mixed," Daghlian said. "In early trade, anyway, the market's slightly stronger. But keep in mind that over the past week or so it's been very, very volatile." Brewer Foster's Group Ltd shares were three cents higher at $4.92 after it reported an full year net loss of $89 million, an improvement on last year, and expects the rate of decline in Australia's beer market to moderate in the coming months. The major banks opened stronger, with ANZ up four cents at $19.34 and Westpac eight cents higher at $19.44. National Australia Bank was 13 cents up at $22.34, while Commonwealth Bank gained 27 cents to $46.17. Among the miners, BHP Billiton was up 21 cents at $37.74 and Rio Tinto was 84 cents, or 1.22 per cent, higher at $69.42. The price of gold in Sydney opened at $US1,906.2 per fine ounce, up $US13.75 from yesterday's local close at $US1,892.45. Shares in gold miner Newcrest Mining were up 93 cents, or 2.3 per cent, at $41.13. National turnover at 1017 AEST was 220.9 million shares worth $583.9 million, with 436 stocks up, 144 down, and 206 were steady.