Australian Stocks Jump the Most in 4 Years

Now that's a change. From Bloomberg:

Australian stocks jumped the most in four years, snapping a five-day slump. BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto Group led the rebound after both companies lost about a tenth of their market values amid a global slide in equities...

The S&P/ASX 200 Index jumped 118.20, or 2.1 percent, to 5771.80 at the close in Sydney, the biggest one-day gain since March 18, 2003. It earlier dropped as much as 0.2 percent. About four times as many stocks rose as fell.

The benchmark plunged 6.5 percent in the past five days, its worst drop since the period ended Sept. 19, 2001, after a rout in Chinese shares triggered a global slump in equities.

The economic data from Australia today were mixed. From The Australian:

The Australian Bureau of Statistics said today the trade balance of goods and services in January was a seasonally adjusted $876 million deficit after an upwardly revised $1.379 billion shortfall in December. Economists had expected a $1.1 billion trade gap.

Imports fell 1 per cent in the month, while total exports rose 2 per cent. However, rural exports remained undermined by the drought, falling 1 per cent...

Building approvals fell by a seasonally adjusted 0.9 per cent to 12,252 units in January, from a downwardly revised 12,359 units in December.

Economists expect approvals to rise 1.5 per cent.

The Reserve Bank of Australia holds its monthly board meeting today, but is not expected to lift interest rates any further at this stage.