Stocks higher at noon after Obama speech

THE Australian share market was higher at noon, extending gains from early trade after US President Barack Obama delivered a highly-anticipated speech on his plan to stimulate the US economy. The local bourse opened slightly higher, despite a weak lead from Wall Street, after US President Barack Obama introduced a $US447 billion ($423.06 billion) plan to Congress that he said would jolt the "stalled" economy, and create more jobs. At noon the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 35.1 points, or 0.84 per cent, at 4,223.1 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index rose 33.3 points, or 0.78 per cent, to 4,303.1 points. On the ASX 24, the September share price index futures contract was 35 points higher at 4,222 points on volume of 24,837 contracts. Cameron Securities client adviser Adrian Leppinus said the market had held up reasonably well, despite a turbulent trading period on the Dow Futures. Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar. End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar. "But I guess most will be waiting to see how the US market takes Obama's speech and measures to stimulate the economy (when Wall Street opens next week)," he said. Mr Leppinus expects an afternoon of quiet trading and predicts the share market will hold onto some of its gains and close about 30 points higher. Gold stocks were the biggest movers, with Australia's biggest gold miner Newcrest Mining up 79 cents, or two per cent, to $40.34. Perseus Mining Ltd was also trading 11 cents, or 2.8 per cent higher at $4.00, with OceanaGold Corp was 17 cents or 7.1 per cent higher at $2.55. Local players also poured money into consumer staples in early trade, with the sector trading 1.13 per cent higher. Wesfarmers was the top performing stock in the top 20, trading almost two per cent higher at $31.11. The financial sector was 0.9 per cent higher and industrials were up 0.91 per cent. Making news in local trade, Westpac shares were 25 cents higher at $20.34 after it was named the world's best bank for corporate sustainability in 2011/12 by Dow Jones Indexes (DJI) and Swiss investment boutique SAM, beating 189 other banks in numerous sustainability metrics. Rio Tinto gained 72 cents to $72.02 after announcing it would invest $US310 million in a Pilbara coastal water project. Fellow miner BHP Billiton was up 21 cents to $38.38. The spot price of gold in Sydney was $US1,856.10 per fine ounce, up $US10.70 from Thursday's local close at $US1,845.40. National turnover was 835.25 million securities changing hands for $1.44 billion, with about seven out of 10 stocks trading higher.