After what proved to be one of the most severe sell-offs in recent memory, Australian investors are beginning to ignore the risks associated with the Greek debt crisis.
The bulls are finally starting to fight back with the S&P/ASX 200 (index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) climbing higher for the second day in a row in what could be referred to as a 'Grelief' rally. The market is up 0.5% following comments from Glenn Stevens, the chair of the Reserve Bank of Australia, who said that Australia's exposure to Greece was 'miniscule' and that we would only be impacted if there was a major contagion effect throughout the global economy.
It seems that that was enough to appease investors who are turning their attention away from Europe in the hope of finding some serious bargains following the market's recent plunge.
Investors piled into the nation's big four banks, together with various other blue-chip stocks. Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) jumped the highest of the banks with its 0.7% gain, while CSL Limited (ASX: CSL), Transurban Group (ASX: TCL) and Aurizon Holdings Ltd (ASX: AZJ) rose 1.5%, 3.9% and 5.4% respectively.
Asciano Ltd (ASX: AIO) also surged 20% on the back of a takeover offer from US-listed Brookfield Infrastructure Partners.
Elsewhere, Australia's oil and gas stocks also provided plenty of energy after oil prices rose 2.6% overnight. Senex Energy Ltd (ASX: SXY) surged 5.4% higher, while Oil Search Limited (ASX: OSH) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) gained 2% and 1.9% each.
Notably, the market's gains would have been considerably higher if it weren't for a heavy fall in the iron ore price. Iron ore fell below US$60 a tonne for the first time in five weeks which weighed on the prices of miners such as BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP), Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) and Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG). The trio fell 2%, 1.8% and 4.6%, respectively.
