Australia: Shares surge 2.85% at the open

Sydney ] Australian stocks surged 2.85 per cent at the open on Wednesday on the back of a rally in commodities with investors betting president-elect Donald Trump will pursue business-friendly policies.

At 10.10am (2310 GMT Wednesday), the S&P/ASX 200 was up 147.1 points at 5,303.7, following global markets higher after the Republican candidate's shock win of the US presidency.

CMC Markets strategist Michael McCarthy said it appeared a consensus was building "that much of the policy announced during the campaign was a sales pitch rather than a commitment to act".

"Investors ignored the potential for damage to international trade and growth prospects and focussed on Republican control of both houses of Congress as well as the White House.

"This offers the prospect of reform that could stimulate the US economy," he added.

IG Markets chief strategist Chris Weston said the Australian market was poised for one of its best days in years with strong buying in commodity futures such as iron ore, steel, and copper.

"US crude has also rallied from its low and this all means huge gains for Aussie stocks today," he said, pointing to the financial, energy and materials sectors as beneficiaries.

Among the big early gainers was global miner BHP, which popped 9.44 per cent to A$24.69, while Rio Tinto jumped 9.02 per cent to A$58.57.

The Australian dollar firmed after Mr Trump's win initially sent risk currencies plummeting, and was trading at 76.62, up from 76.19 US cents late Wednesday.

AFP