The Aussie market is faring reasonably so far today, with local investors cautiously encouraged by last night's late session surge on Wall Street.

That being said, the XJO has peeled away from the early session highs.

Most sectors are in positive territory, with materials, energy and financials leading the way.

The major miners are enjoying solid buying, with BHP up 3% and Rio Tinto up 2%, whilst QBE (+3%) and WPL (+2.6%) the best of the rest.

In company news, Hew Hope is up close to 15% after agreeing to open up its books and invite bids that could see the company valued as high as $10 billion.

In economic news, retail sales came in better-than-forecast in August for a second straight month.

Sales rose 0.6% from a month earlier, when they also increased 0.6%.

Around the region, Asian markets are generally weaker; the Hang Seng is closed but the Shanghai Composite is down 0.3% and the Nikkei is off 0.9%.

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