The Australian share market has surged amid a global rally on signs the COVID-19 death toll is slowing.
The S&P/ASX200 benchmark index was up 134.6 points, or 2.55 percent, to 5,421.4 at 1015 AEST on Tuesday, adding to the 4.33 percent gain during April 6 session.
The All Ordinaries index was also up, rising 140.6 points, or 2.64 percent, to 5,464.2 points after the first 15 minutes of trading.
The financial and energy sectors climbed by more than 3.0 percent each at the open while consumer discretionaries and tech stocks jumped by more than 4.0 percent.
Utilities and consumer staples were the only sectors in the red.
The early rise for the ASX follows an overnight global rally as coronavirus-related deaths showed signs of slowing in certain major cities.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite added more than 7.0 per cent each after a decline in the daily death toll in New York, the US’s biggest COVID-19 hotspot.
The Reserve Bank board will consider on Tuesday whether its bond-buying program needs tweaking when it holds its first monetary policy meeting since unveiling a historic suite of stimulus measures to combat the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Australian dollar was buying 61.19 US cents at 1015 AEST, up from 60.50 US cents at the close of markets on Monday.
