Market rallies as US hits new high

The sharemarket followed Wall Street's positive lead to end sharply higher.
The benchmark ASX 200 index rose 76.6 points to 5219.3, while the All Ordinaries gained 73.3 points to 5174.8.
On the Sydney Futures Exchange, the December share price index contract closed day trading 79 points higher at 5231 on a volume of 20,008 contracts.
Bell Potter analyst Stuart Smith said the higher close was the result of strong gains in the US on Wednesday night, and came despite a selldown in commodities in the past few days.
"I'm supremely confident about our market; I do think we're going to see more highs," Mr Smith said.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 123.27 points, or 1.05 per cent, to 11,850.61, a second straight record close.
The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 16.11 points, or 1.21 per cent, to 1350.22, while the Nasdaq Composite jumped 47.30 points, or 2.11 per cent, to 2290.95.
Telstra is expected to determine the direction of the market for the next two trading days.
"The horizon really depends on tomorrow's strategic review by Telstra and moreover the info provided to the market on Monday," Mr Smith said
Mr Smith said he believed that because the share tranche sale must go ahead, the market would be supplied with positive news for at least the next two working days.
Telstra ended 1c lower at $3.73.
The telco is due to give a one-year update on its five-year restructure today, and then on Monday launch the T3 prospectus, with the offer opening on October 23.
Resource and energy stocks rallied. BHP Billiton rose 39c to $25.15, while Rio Tinto was up $1.32 to $69.33.
Woodside rose $1.25 to $38.70 and rival Santos rose 15c to $10.70 after launching a $1.26 per share cash bid for Queensland Gas, valuing the coal seam gas company at $606 million.
The price of spot gold in Sydney again closed lower, losing $US14.70 to $US564.60 per fine ounce.
But miners were still positive, with Lihir up 2c at $2.78 and Newcrest 14c higher at $21.40.
Banks continued their positive run, with Westpac rising 31c to $23.16, NAB 60c to $37.69, CBA 85c to $46.80 and ANZ 52c to $27.55.
Among the media stocks, John Fairfax rose 18c to $4.38, PBL was 39c higher at $19.59, News Corp rose 8c to $27.40 and its non-voting stock was up 11c to $26.18.
Coles Myer rallied 2c to $14.24, while rival Woolworths jumped 27c to $20.90 and David Jones rose 10c to $3.65.
Junior nickel miner Australian Mines was the most traded stock of the day, with 93.5 million shares worth $4.1 million changing hands, after it acquired a nickel project from BHP Billiton. Its shares rose 0.7c to 4.5c.
PacMag Metals soared 28.5c to 47c before closing at 41.5c.
The company announced its Ann Mason deposit in Nevada contained 64 per cent more copper than previously estimated.