As employment figures shared by the Australian Bureau of Statistics started to make rounds, only to reveal a much-better-than estimated employment rate across the country for November, the Australian stockmarket was pulled out of doldrums and nudged higher into a positive territory in the early afternoon trading.

S&P/ASX 200, the benchmark index, gained 8.4 points, or 0.18%, to trade at a new high of 4646.30 points, and the broader All Ordinaries, on the other hand, hiked by 7.5 points, or 0.16%, to
4660.10 points.

December share price index contract on the Sydney Futures Exchange, was 4648, after gaining 18 points, on 12,325 contracts.

"The unemployment number came out this morning and it goes to show that the doom-and-gloom merchants have got it wrong", said Richard Morrow, a Director at EL&C Baillieu Stockbroking, while revealing that banking stocks led the scoreboard across the markets. "They are well leveraged to a better economy, (as shown in) this employment data", he said.

While shares of the National Australia Bank and the Commonwealth Bank gained 37 cents and 6 cents, respectively, ANZ was hiked by 24 cents, but the Macquarie Group pulled down by 18 cents.

The market had started out much slower, but with the release of the figures, it started performing much better for the day. Mining and other resources, however, did continue to fall.