SUN Suncorp Group Limited

0431 GMT [Dow Jones] Australia's S&P/ASX 200 is up 0.7% at 4985.1 as gains have broadened. Early strength in resources has spread to industrials, healthcare, financials, healthcare, and telecommunications. While it's tempting to link the strong performance in major stocks to end-of-quarter buying, share trading volumes are light before the Easter long weekend. Among heavyweight standouts, AMP (AMP.AU), QBE (QBE.AU), Macquarie (MQG.AU), Fortescue (FMG.AU), Brambles (BXB.AU), Suncorp (SUN.AU), Origin (ORG.AU), Telstra (TLS.AU), Rio Tinto (RIO.AU), BHP (BHP.AU) are up 0.8%-4.1%. Traders appear to be positioning themselves for further gains in the event that U.S. equity market strength accelerates on a move above the Oct 2007 peak of 1576 on the S&P 500. U.S. pending home sales data will be in focus tonight. (david.rogers1@wsj.com)

 
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