(RTTNews) - The Australian market extended the gains for the second consecutive day and ended in positive territory on Tuesday, taking cues from Wall Street where the major averages ended sharply higher with Dow setting a new yearly high with a gain of more than 2%. Positive economic data related to business conditions also lifted market sentiment, with banks leading the gains.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 Index rose 58.70 points, or 1.26% to close at 4,734, while the All-Ordinaries Index ended at 4,744, representing a gain of 57.50 points, or 1.23%.

On the economic front, a report released by the National Australia Bank revealed that the index measuring business confidence rose in October following a decline in the previous month. As per the report, the index measuring business confidence stood at 16 in October, up 2 points from September's reading of 14. Among the sub-indices, the index measuring business conditions rose sharply by 9 points to 12, the profit index climbed 9 points to 13 and the sales index gained 7 points to 15.

Light sweet crude oil futures for December delivery ended at $78.91 a barrel in electronic trading, down $0.52 per barrel from previous close at $79.43 a barrel in New York on Monday.

Banking stocks led the gains on increasing optimism about recovery. ANZ Bank, which revealed plans to offer convertible preference shares to raise $750 million in tier one capital, added 0.62%. Commonwealth Bank of Australia advanced 0.85%, National Australia Bank gained 1.79% and Westpac Banking rose 0.46%. Investment banking entity Macquarie Group climbed 1.00%.

Metals and mining stocks ended in positive territory following rise in commodity prices. BHP Billiton gained 2.34%, Rio Tinto rose 2.59%, Fortescue Metals surged up 3.33%, Gindalbie Metals added 0.55%, Iluka Resources climbed 2.92% and Oz Minerals increased 2.47%.

Oil stocks also advanced. Woodside Petroleum rose 1.65%, Santos advanced 1.24%, Oil Search added 0.50% and Origin Energy climbed 1.49%.

Mixed trading was witnessed among gold stocks after the price of bullion surpassed $1,100 in the bullion market. Sino Gold Mining soared 6.53% while Newcrest Mining slipped 0.42% and Lihir Gold shed 0.88% on profit taking.

Property stocks ended in positive territory. GPT Group advanced 1.65%, Mirvac Group surged up 4.26% and Stockland climbed 3.80%. However, Westfield Group bucked the trend and ended in negative territory with a loss of 1.38%.

Retail stocks also ended mixed. David Jones advanced 1.76%, Wesfarmers climbed 2.77% and Woolworths edged up 0.11%. However, Harvey Norman lost 1.87% and JB Hi-Fi shed 1.61% on profit taking.

In the U.S., stocks staged a substantial rally during trading on Monday, with the major averages seeing some further upside after moving higher over the course of last week. The strength in the markets was partly due to optimism generated by indications from the G20 finance ministers that their economic stimulus measures will remain in place until the global economic recovery is assured. The Dow rose by 203.52 points or 2% to 10,227, the Nasdaq gained 41.62 points or 2% to close at 2,154, and the S&P 500 rose by 23.78 points or 2.2% at 1,093.

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