The All Ords finished up 48 points or 0.9%. The ASX 200 put on 50. Macquarie shares finished the session up more than 2% after it recorded a jump of 35% in its first half result. And ANZ added 0.7% after it recorded a record full-year profit of 7.3 billion dollars; that was up 15% on last year. 

 

Checking elsewhere in the region: 

 

Japan's Nikkei is doing very well, up 859 points, the Hang Seng also higher. And taking a quick check of the Australian dollar, it's currently buying 87.92 US cents. 

 

The executives of Australia's largest gold miner Newcrest have received a big rebuke after a significant number of shareholders rejected their pay deal. Nearly half of all shareholders voted against the company's remuneration report at its annual general meeting in Melbourne. It means the board now has a strike against it and if it happens again at next year's meeting, the board will be spilled.

 

And official figures show a strong jump in business lending while home lending also remains strong. Reserve Bank figures show growth in business lending rose from 0 to 0.5% from August to September. Growth in home lending was flat at 0.6% over the month. But over the year, home lending is up 6.8%.