Aust stocks open higher

The Australian stock market opened higher, pushing past the key 5000 barrier, despite a mixed close on Wall Street and falls locally at the end of last week.

At the 1015 AEST official market open, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index rose 0.8% to 5,011.9 points and the broader All Ordinaries index gained 0.77% to 4,997.5 points.

Materials were mixed, with the major miners rising.

Rio Tinto rose 0.28% to $56.39, while BHP Billiton gained 0.47% to $34.02.

Fortescue Metals slipped 0.27% to $3.71.

Whitehaven Coal gained 1.4% to $2.17, while Newcrest jumped 3.96% to $11.56.

In energy, Santos increased 0.73% to $13.84, Oil Search put on 0.61% to $8.19 and Woodside gained 1.09% to $38.14.

Financials posted gains across the board.

Commonwealth Bank gained 0.7% to $71.96, while ANZ Banking Group rose 0.8% to $29.05.

National Australia Bank increased 0.56% to $30.51, while Westpac Banking Corporation put on 1.16% to $29.60.

Investment bank Macquarie Group jumped 3% to $45.38.

In the insurance sector, QBE added 0.31% to $16.20, Insurance Australia Group rose 0.85% to $5.90 and Suncorp put on 0.81% to $12.52.

The retail sector was stronger.

Wesfarmers gained 1.13% to $39.39, while Woolworths rose 0.36% to $33.42.

Myer added 2.16% to $2.605 while rival David Jones added 1.22% to $2.49.

Harvey Norman put on 0.81% to $2.49 while JB Hi-Fi rose 1.47% to $16.59.

IG analyst Evan Lucas said no global news is expected before midnight, which will affect the day's trade.

"Expect a very quiet start to the week today," he said. "[This] could mean we ebb and flow throughout the trading session."

No major economic news is expected.

In equities news, Australian Foundation Investment Company is scheduled to post full year results while Macquarie Atlas Roads is expected to release its June quarter traffic report.

In Australia, the market on ended the week with a fall as negative sentiment across Asia prompted a selloff in local resources stocks.

The market rose above 5,000 points in early trade, boosted by gains on Wall Street that took the US stocks to record highs but selling took hold from late morning as other markets in the region lost ground.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 21.3 points, or 0.43%, at 4,972.1 points, while the broader All Ordinaries index was down 17.5 points, or 0.35%, to 4,959.4 points.