Aust stocks open firmer

Australian stocks have opened firmer, with the big retail banks leading the broader market higher.

ANZ had risen 4.72 per cent, or $1.42, to $31.52 at the start of trade, after reporting a one per cent lift in first half net profit.

In percentage terms, ANZ had risen the most out of all stocks on the S&P/ASX20.

ANZ's underlying cash profit, the bank's preferred measure, jumped 10 per cent to $3.18 billion, slightly above expectations.

Moreover, a 73 cents per share fully-franked dividend was also better than what the market was expecting.

"The earnings performance confirms our long-held argument (that) the major banks can deliver reasonable profit and dividend growth despite only moderate loan growth," Morningstar analyst David Ellis said in a research note.

The other three major retail banks also had a good start to Tuesday's local session: CBA had climbed $1 to $72.60, NAB was 78 cents higher at $33.86 and Westpac had advanced 66 cents to $33.78.

Financials were the best-performing sector at the open, having risen 1.96 per cent.

The local market also took its cues from a positive lead on Wall Street, where the Dow and S&P500 both ended up 0.72 per cent and the NASDAQ finished 0.85 per cent higher.

In other news on Tuesday, Whitehaven Coal said weak coal markets and a strong Australian dollar continued to impact on the company's overall performance.

Whitehaven was down 2.5 cents, or 1.28 per cent, at $1.935.

Westfield Group has sold its 50 per cent stake in its Brazil joint venture to the Almeida Junior Family for an undisclosed sum.

Westfield was up three cents at $11.61.

KEY FACTS

* At 1018 AEST, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 44.1 points, or 0.86 per cent, at 5,169.9 points.

* The broader All Ordinaries index was up 40.2 points, or 0.79 per cent, at 5,148.5 points.

* The June share price index futures contract was up 32 points at 5,161 points, with 8,338 contracts traded.

* National turnover was 186.8 million securities worth $521.1 million.

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