CommBank leads sharemarket surge

Investors have shown a marked preference for CBA over its Big Four banking rivals.

Local shares surged on Tuesday, driven by good leads from overseas and further indications that the Reserve Bank will deliver another interest rate cut.

The $A fell slightly on the back of the RBA's minutes, but at around US76.24¢ it is now much closer to fair value.

RBA hopes Fed will push down dollar

The minutes from the latest RBA meeting show it is ready to roll up its sleeves and cut interest rates - if the Fed doesn't do the work for it and push down the dollar.

Goldman Sachs's head of economics, commodities and strategy research for Australia and New Zealand Tim Toohey✓ saidsays exporters and import-exposed industries set to benefit from the lower currency had been stymied by falling exchange rates and currencies around the world, and by capital flows into Australian financial assets such as bonds.

Ethical strategies dominate returns

Socially responsible investment strategies are increasingly delivering stronger financial performance than their traditional counterparts, while smaller companies that pay strong dividends are also in favour.