ASX 200 opens higher as Federal Government brings forward lifeline for oil refineries

The Australian share market has opened slightly higher, with bank stocks on the rise, after NAB’s sale of MLC was cleared by the competition watchdog.

By 10:55am (AEDT), the ASX 200 was 0.3 per cent higher at 6,660 points.

The top movers at the open were GWA Group (+4.6), Eagers Automotive (+4.4pc), Afterpay (+4.2pc), and JB Hi-Fi (+3.1pc).

On the flipside, the bottom movers were Westgold Resources (-4.3pc), Webjet (-3.8pc), Flight Centre (-3.5pc) and Whitehaven Coal (-3.2pc).

The big four banks helped pull the index higher, with ANZ up by 1 per cent and Commonwealth Bank up 0.9 per cent.

Shares in NAB were up 0.6 per cent after the competition regulator gave the greenlight to IOOF’s $1.4 billion purchase of NAB’s wealth division, MLC…