Whether news of Kevin Rudd’s reinstatement as Australia’s prime minister had anything to do with the market’s performance is a mystery but business leaders wasted no time in urging Rudd to call an earlier election to restore confidence levels.

“The easiest way to provide certainty for business and consumers is to let voters decide at an election as soon as possible,” Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Western Australia chief executive officer James Pearson said.

“We hope this change in leadership means a change in focus, which puts the competitiveness and productivity of our nation at the forefront of economic policy.”

Bloomberg quoted ANZ economist Ivan Colhoun as saying an earlier election could lift business and consumer confidence.

The S&P/ASX 200 index’s strong start to the trading day was underpinned by data out of the US showing gross domestic product increased by less than first thought, which the market interpreted as a reason for the Federal Reserve to continue its stimulus program.

The index reached a trading day high of 4830.5 points and managed to close above 4800 points after adding 1.7%, or 79.6 points, to 4811.3 points.

The broader All Ordinaries firmed 1.6% to 4784.8 points, while the Australian dollar found support against the greenback, hitting a high of US93.40c.

The miners were a mixed bag, however, some of the gold miners moved into positive territory.

St Barbara was a standout, firming 17.5% to A47c while other winners included OceanaGold Corporation, up 1.8% to $1.55.

Kingsgate Consolidated jumped 1.5% to $1.36, while Newcrest Mining snapped its losing streak with a 6.3% increase to $9.90.

Majors BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto both lost ground, falling 0.5% to $31.47 and 0.2% to $51.79 respectively.

Elsewhere, junior Aspire Mining lifted 22.9% to 4.3c on no news while West African Resources advanced 12.5% to 18c following a maiden resource for its Sartenga deposit.