Australian shares ended the day higher, but not as high as gains seen on global markets overnight. Traders have been anticipating some key US job numbers due tonight and the Australian corporate earning season which rounds up next week. The All Ordinaries Index added 0.7 percent, as did the ASX 200 index. Across the region, Japan's Nikkei has jumped closed to two percent. China's main market has returned to trade from the lunar New Year holiday and is down around a quarter of a percent. The Australian dollar has fallen against the greenback throughout the afternoon to 89.4 US cents. 

 

Rupert Mordoch's Newscorp has reported a slide in revenue as newspaper advertising declines. Total revenue for the media conglomerate in the second quarter was down four percent to 2.25 billion dollars. During the period, revenue from Australian newspapers dropped 17 percent.