The Australian sharemarket has jumped higher at the open after a relatively tame inflation reading in the US combined with the latest jobs data spurred a rally on Wall Street.

The S&P/ ASX 200 was up 68.1 points, or 0.8 per cent to 8873.1, with nine of 11 industry sectors in positive territory, led by financials and materials.

Wall Street is banking on interest rate cuts. Credit: AP

The big four banks are sharply higher, led by Westpac’s 1.4 per cent gain. NAB jumped 1.3 per cent, Commonwealth Bank added 0.9 per cent and ANZ rose 0.8 per cent.

Mining shares are higher, with iron ore heavyweights BHP (up 1 per cent), Rio Tinto (up 0.7 per cent) and Fortescue (up 0.8 per cent) all posting healthy gains. Gold stocks also advanced as the price of the safe haven rose. Northern Star adde

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