Stocks surge 1pc at noon

Banks, miners and energy stocks have bounded sharply higher as offshore fears recede.

The Australian sharemarket has held onto much of its opening gains through morning trade as energy stocks soar and Brexit fears are calmed.

At 12pm (AEST), the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was 56.4 points higher, or 1.09 per cent, to 5219.1, while the broader All Ordinaries index had jumped 52.9 points, or 1.01 per cent, to 5301.2.

The local market outperformed compared to Friday night moves offshore, as a number of polls over the weekend revealed a shift toward the ‘Remain’ camp ahead of this Thursday’s referendum.

“Risk sentiment trades lifted on Monday morning as the ‘Remain’ vote gained momentum over the weekend,” easyMarkets Senior Dealer Andreas Tjahja said.

“The British pound against the Japanese yen – the barometer for Brexit risk – is up 1.3 per cent, while other risk proxies like the Australian dollar are up 0.55 per cent and equities futures all opened higher.”

The reduced Brexit worries aided the banks, although it was energy and materials stocks that saw the most significant boost as commodities are seen as the biggest beneficiaries in a risk-on environment.

A strong 4 per cent jump in oil prices at the end of last week added to the positive sentiment in the resources space.

Santos soared 6.8 per cent to $4.58, Origin bounded 7 per cent to $5.73 and Woodside advanced 4 per cent to $26.98 as the energy sector paced the market.

The big miners followed suit, with BHP Billiton leaping 3 per cent to $18.62 and Rio Tinto climbing 1.8 per cent to $44.22. Iron ore miner Fortescue rose 0.62 per cent to $3.26.

Gold stocks bucked the trend as the safe haven lure was no longer so strong.

Newcrest, the nation’s largest player in the space, tumbled 3.8 per cent to $21.57.

In banking, the big four enjoyed a sharp turnaround in sentiment, with ANZ lifting 1.9 per cent to $23.67, CBA climbing 2.1 per cent to $73.57, NAB adding 1.9 per cent to $25.51 and Westpac tacking on 1.9 per cent to $29.22.

In company news, Metcash shares plunged over 12 per cent to $1.86 as investors responded negatively to the finer details of a swing to profit for the full-year, while SurfStitch stock rallied 4.3 per cent to 24.5c after new boss Mike Sonand restructured the group’s US operations to cut costs.

Elsewhere, Crown Resorts tacked on 1.4 per cent to $13.09 despite Moody’s labelling its demerger a ‘credit negative’ event for the group.

Among blue chips, Telstra was up 1 per cent to $5.36, while aviation giant Qantas slid 1.2 per cent to $2.89 as rising oil prices are seen as a lag on profits.

Meanwhile, the Australian dollar was trading at US74.35c around lunchtime, up from US73.79c on Friday.