S&P/ASX 200 (INDEXASX:XJO) has closed near the 11-year high it hit during earlier trade, up 62 points or 1% to 6,382 – the highest level since December 2007.
The healthcare sector climbed 2.38%, while tech, consumer staples and heavyweight financial stocks more than offset a subdued day for energy and mining shares.
Gainers and losers
Bellamy’s Australia (ASX:BAL) rose 15.6% to $11.12 after the Chinese market regulator released three approvals for its branded infant formula.
Northern Star (ASX:NST) shares dropped 2.5% to $8.26 amid problems at its Alaskan operations which impacted the gold miner’s quarterly performance.
Consumer confidence up
The weekly ANZ-Roy Morgan consumer confidence rating increased by 3.6% to 119.5 points – the biggest rise in 10 months.