Australian shares rebound

The Australian sharemarket opened over one percent higher, after falling almost three percent on Friday, following gains on European bourses.

At 1016 AEDT, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 70.6 points, or 1.54 percent, at 4,642.7 while the broader All Ordinaries rose 64.2 points, or 1.4 percent, to 4,661.4.

The gains were broad-based, with 48 of the stocks in the S&P/ASX 50 rising.

On the Sydney Futures Exchange, the December share price index contract gained 53 points to 4,649, on a volume of 8,967 contracts.

The big four banks all gained over two percent after Commonwealth Bank became the last of them to say that it does not expect to incur a material loss from its financial exposure to Dubai World.

ANZ Banking Group gained 51 cents, or 2.41 percent, to $21.70, National Australia Bank added 64 cents to $27.65, Westpac advanced 54 cents $23.67 and Commonwealth Bank rose 98 cents to $51.58.

Macquarie Group was among the leading gainers, adding $1.31, or 2.89 percent, to $46.65.

The big miners also added to gains, with BHP Billiton advancing 72 cents, or 1.78 percent, to $41.11 and Rio Tinto rising $1.81, or 2.64 percent, to $70.36.

Fortescue Metals jumped 15 cents, or 3.74 percent, to $4.16.

On Friday, Europe's leading stock indices closed higher, reversing earlier sharp losses driven by a shock debt announcement in Dubai that alarmed markets worldwide.

US stocks dropped because they had been closed the previous day when the reports of Dubai's debt problems became public.

- AAP