The Australian sharemarket traded well into positive territory today, despite slightly negative finishes on Wall Street and in the UK overnight.
At 3.30pm the ASX200 was up 1.28% to 4096.6, while the broader All Ordinaries index gained 1.23% to 4135.7.
The dollar first weakened then strengthened in afternoon trade after EU leaders approved a €120 billion growth pact and announced new plans to refinance ailing banks in the region. The Australian dollar traded at 1.015.