AUSTRALIAN stocks shot up by 1.3 per cent, with investors cheering comments out of the US that money would continue to be pumped into the world's largest economy.
Shares in Australia soared on US Fed chairman Ben Bernanke's comments that central bank support through stimulus would continue for the foreseeable future, after flagging an end to it sent markets diving last month.
Job numbers provided the other major influence, with investors focusing less on the bad news of a rise in unemployment to 5.7 per cent in June, and more on the better than expected 10,400-plus net jobs created.
"The market wanted to focus on the positive," CMC Markets senior trader Tim Waterer said.
The heavy falls in the US dollar sent commodities and especially gold stocks higher as the two tend to have an inverse relationship.
Gold stocks shot up by 11.5 per cent, but there was room for improvement with the sector having had a horror run of late as the gold price fell.