Local markets enjoyed their best day of 2017 on Thursday, jumping firmly higher following strong off-shore leads and despite a number of key local stocks going ex-dividend. 

The ASX jumped sharply at the open after Wall Street hit new records overnight following US President Donald Trump's speech to Congress as well as solid global manufacturing data, and the local market held onto its gains throughout the day.

The benchmark ASX200 rose 1.3 per cent to 5776.6, breaking five straight sessions of falls, while the broader All Ordinaries added 1.2 per cent.

The gains were broad-based - all sector indices, with the exception of telecommunications, finished the day in the black.

Macroeconomic themes dominated on Thursday, said National Australia Bank's global co-head of foreign exchange strategy Ray Attrill. 

"I've seen it described as a slam dunk," he said, of US, UK and Asian markets all moving sharply higher on Wednesday.

Mr Trump's speech to Congress, while short on detail of his pro-growth plans, was nevertheless greeted as successful as the US president struck a less combative tone and flagged a $US1 trillion investment in infrastructure. But Mr Attrill said it's not clear if this was the main reason markets moved higher.

"It's hard to say," he said. "The more interesting phenomenon is markets pretty much moving to fully price in the Federal Reserve raising interest rates in March. Stocks seem to be more encouraged than discouraged by that. You could almost argue that the Fed's rhetoric seems to be instilling greater confidence."

Leading the index were South32 and Alumina which surged after reports China had put limits on steal and aluminium output. Alumina rose 9,0 per cent, while South32 added 9.2 per cent. Also enjoying near-double-digit growth was base metals miner Independence Group - up 9.0 per cent, breaking a very sharp losing streak over the past two weeks.

Bluescope Steel, Fortescue Metals, Woolworths, Bendigo and Adelaide Bank and Woodside Petroleum all went ex-dividend. Bendigo and Adelaide Bank was the biggest drag on the ASX200, shedding 2,1 per cent. Bluescope Steel traded higher, up 2.8 per cent, as did Fortescue Metals, up 0.3 per cent, and Woodside, up 0.2 per cent. Woolworths shed 0.2 per cent.  

Myer Holdings was the day's biggest loser in percentage terms, falling 2.9 per cent.

The big four banks all moved more than 1 per cent on Thursday, following strong gains for financials on Wall Street, with the Commonwealth Bank leading the charge, up 1.3 per cent. 

Salmon farmer Tassal put its shares in a trading halt as it announced plans to raise up to $100 million to boost its operations. Global demand for salmon has been rising strongly - Tassal's shares are up 18 per cent this year. 

Stock Watch: South32

Shares in South32 rocketed 9.2 per cent to $2.72 today following a research note out of investment bank Goldman Sachs adding the company to the bank's conviction buy list with a $2.90 price target. Furthermore, despite falling coal and manganese prices, Goldman Sachs still believes the miner is in a position to generate a strong level of cash flow. Additionally, reports have emerged that China has ordered curbs on steel and aluminum output in as many as 28 northern cities during the winter heating season as it steps up its fight against pollution. The cuts include halving steel capacity in four major cities, including top producer Tangshan in Hebei province, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the matter is confidential. Alumina 

Trade Balance

The trade balance was in net positive in January, posting a strong surplus of $1.3 billion, but that was far below expectations of $3.8 billion, which would have been the highest ever.Exports fell 3 per cent in the month to $31.8 billion, while imports were up 4 per cent at $30.5 billion. Economists explained the drop with a steep slump in non-monetary gold export, which fell 40 per cent, as well as coking coal shipments. The timing of Chinese New Year, which fell in January this year, is also likely to have contributed to the lower surplus. The dollar fell about two-tenths of a cent to the day's low of US76.44¢.

Building approvals

Approvals for new housing rose an unexpected 1.8 per cent in January to 17,412 dwellings - led by apartments - but are still trending down. On a seasonally-adjusted basis, building approvals totalled 221,652 dwellings for the past 12 months, down from an annualised 230,813 in December. Importantly, the rise in January was driven by a 6.2 per cent rise in non-detached dwellings - mainly apartments - which is a far more volatile measure. Year-on-year non-detached dwelling approvals are down 14 per cent. Private sector housing approvals fell three per cent to be down 9.4 per cent year-on-year.

US shares

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 303.31 points to close at 21,115.55 on Wednesday night following US President Donald Trump's address to Congress last night. Not only was that a record high for the Dow, it took the index just 24 sessions to jump 1000 points. While Donald Trump provided few specifics in his address to Congress, he reiterated broad proposals for boosting spending and cutting taxes that reinforced views that his administration will seek pro-growth policies. Meanwhile, Fed officials continued to massage expectations of a March rate rise, which boosted financial stocks.

Oil

Oil held losses after government data showed US crude stockpiles rose to a record, countering efforts by OPEC producers to drain a global surplus. Brent crude was fetching $US56.13 a barrel. Futures fell 0.2 per cent in New York after dropping 0.3 per cent Wednesday. Supplies added 1.5 million barrels to 520.2 million, the most in weekly data going back to 1982. Saudi Arabia's shipments of crude fell last month, indicating OPEC's biggest producer is continuing to cut supplies by more than it pledged, Bloomberg vessel-tracking data shows.