THE sharemarket has bounced back to close above the key 5000 point mark for the first time in a month amid hopes that local interest rates will fall.
At the close today, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 39.1 points, or 0.79 per cent, at 5007.1.
The broader All Ordinaries index was 36.6 points, or 0.74 per cent, stronger at 5010.3.
Official figures showing the unemployment rate hitting a 3 1/2 year high of 5.6 per cent in March fuelled hopes that the Reserve Bank could start cutting rates again soon.
Financial stocks rebounded from falls during the previous session to lead the market higher.
"The banks provided the ballast for the market while the rest of the market wilted over the course of the trading session," CMC Markets chief market strategist Michael McCarthy said.
ANZ closed 44c higher at $28.69, while Commonwealth Bank rose 75c to $68.05, National Australia Bank rose 40c to $31.60, and Westpac rose 60c to $31.53.
