Aussie shares close strongly

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The Australian sharemarket closed in positive territory amid expectations of strong results from the materials sector and a good performance from energy and financial stocks.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index added 28.8 points, or 0.63 per cent, to close at 4594.9 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index gained 29.3 points, or 0.64 per cent, to 4615.6 points.

On the Sydney Futures Exchange, the September share price index contract rose 29 points to 4558 points, with 31,666 contracts traded.

The day's advance was paced by the materials and consumer staples sectors, while the energy and financial sectors also moved into positive territory, IG Markets analyst Cameron Peacock said.

The major miners traded higher, with Rio Tinto closing 80c up, or 1.09 per cent, at A$74 and BHP Billiton adding 42c to A$41.55.

Peacock said the positive trading showed investors had plenty of resolve at the moment.

"A couple of months ago, Friday's disappointing non-farm payrolls report [in the US] could have easily been used as an excuse to trade off, but there seems to be more of a forward-looking optimism for the second half of the year.

"People are starting to look beyond the choppy and inconsistent data we've had."

Peacock said investors were positive about the future of commodities prices and after Rio's announcement last week that it would boost production in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

"After Rio Tinto posted such good numbers, there are high hopes BHP will return a good result.

"We know the jobs situation in the US is pretty sluggish still, but we have had a good US earnings season and expect earnings will be good here."

The banks closed higher. NAB was up 2c at A$25.05, Commonwealth Bank gained 45c to A$53.04, Westpac was 18c higher at A$23.80 and ANZ Banking Group rose 5c to A$23.10.

- AAP