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Australia stocks hit seven-year high

Xinhua, March 3, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Australian share market opened at a fresh seven-year high on Tuesday on the back of strong performances overnight from world stock markets.

At the official market open, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 24.8 points, or 0.42 percent, at 5,983.7 points while the broader All Ordinaries index added 23.8 points, or 0.4 percent, at 5,950.1 points.

Financials were up 0.68 percent higher with ANZ lifting 0.56 percent, the Commonwealth Bank up 0.58 percent, the National Australia Bank adding 0.56 percent while Westpac lifted 1.31 percent.

Consumer staples rallied 0.67 percent. Woolworths gained 0.79 percent while Wesfarmers added 0.58 percent.

Materials lost 0.67 percent as a sector. BHP Billiton shed 1.06 percent while Rio Tinto retreated 1.83 percent.

Energy stocks gave up 0.38 percent as a sector. Oil Search rose 0.37 percent, Santos lost 0.93 percent while Woodside Petroleum fell 1.13 percent.

Meanwhile, Telstra rose 0.16 percent and Qantas added 1.04 percent. Endi