The Australian market is defying the bears as it claws back early losses with financial stocks leading the charge.
The futures market predicted a weak start to trade but the pessimism quickly dissipated with the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) rallying 0.6% just before lunch.
Investment bank Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) can take most of the credit for the turnaround in market sentiment after it posted a better than expected full year result.
The stock jumped the most in over three months when it advanced 5.2% to $80.48 to become the top gainer on the ASX 200 in the late morning.
Macquarie galvanised buying interest in other financial stocks with Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) and Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) adding close to 2% each.
Childcare centre operator G8 Education Ltd (ASX: GEM) also finds itself among the top five leaders with a 3.6% jump to $3.79 in late morning trade, after National Australia Bank Ltd. (ASX: NAB) revealed yesterday that it has upped its stake in the company to 6.8% from 5.6%.
Outdoor and auto accessories retailer Super Retail Group Ltd (ASX: SUL) was another to give investors reason to cheer with its stock rallying 1.4% to a one-week high of $10.02 after it reported a big jump in sales growth for its sports division.
Potential corporate action could be behind Genworth Mortgage Insurance Australia's (ASX: GMA) 2.6% rally to $3.17. Bloomberg reports that two block trades totaling 19.4 million shares were crossed at $3.09 today. The volume represents around 3% of the company's stock.
On the flipside, energy company Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) is the second worst performer on the top 200 benchmark with a 3.7% fall to $8.70 as investors used the fall in crude oil prices and its 17.3% surge over the past month as an excuse to take profit.
Pet care group Greencross Limited (ASX GXL) continues to slide for the third consecutive day following Wednesday's profit warning. The stock is among the top five losers in late morning trade with a 2.8% drop to $6.27.
