The Australian sharemarket advanced for a second straight day after a flurry of corporate results fuelled broad-based gains, helping it shrug off a mixed finish on Wall Street.

US stocks rose and trimmed their losses from a shaky week. That was even though the bond market, which has been the centre of Wall Street’s action, remained jumpy and continued to…

Australia’s share market has started the new week higher, as BHP and the materials sector hit record highs.