THE Australian stockmarket opened higher following gains on Wall Street and European bourses as Alcoa kicked of the US earnings season.
The aluminium producer posted a sharp Q2 loss of $US119 million ($130.989 million) citing restructuring costs.
At the 10.15am AEST market open the benchmark S&P/ASX200 rose 0.98 per cent to 4856.7 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index lifted 0.93 per cent higher to 4842.3 points.
Materials were mixed, with the major miners paring some of yesterday's losses.
Rio Tinto lifted 0.19 per cent to $51.74, while BHP Billiton rose 0.71 per cent to $31.17. Fortescue Metals slipped 0.61 per cent to $3.28.
Whitehaven Coal fell 0.22 per cent to $2.235, while Newcrest gained 0.71 per cent to $9.97.
In energy, Santos rose 0.45 per cent to $13.47, Oil Search gained 1.38 per cent lower to $8.06 and Woodside increased 0.28 per cent to $36.29.