Australian stocks higher at noon US markets ended mixed with weak economic growth in the first quarter of 2013. AUSTRALIAN stocks were higher at noon, with the big banks among the best performers on a day of broad-based gains. The financial sector was up 1.08 per cent at noon, as investors continued to reduce their holdings of resources companies and buy into the banks. The lure of high-yielding dividends just before the likes of ANZ, CBA, NAB and Westpac report their latest financial results was adding to demand for banking stocks. "Clearly it is the power of the dividend that is pushing these financial stocks up," Lonsec senior client adviser Michael Heffernan said. It has just been phenomenal. You would have thought when they were up quite a lot a couple of weeks ago that would have been it for a while, but they just keep relentlessly powering on. Resources have been dragging the chain as usual. ANZ was up 24 cents at $30.12, CBA had risen 69 cents to $71.53, NAB was 50 cents higher at $33.13 and Westpac had advanced 46 cents to $33.03. Meanwhile, BHP was down 8.5 cents at $32.495 after the mining giant said it had sold a copper mine in the US for $US650 million ($A634.86 million). Rio Tinto had slid 49 cents to $55.31. In other news today, wagering and gaming firm Tabcorp was up six cents, or 1.8 per cent, at $3.40 after reporting a 2.6 per cent lift in third quarter revenue to $480.3 million. Mr Heffernan said he expected the local market stay close to current levels for the rest of the Asian trading day, given the positive vibe from offshore. "The international environment seems to be very much more serene now that it has been with the Italian parliament now getting a government at last," Mr Heffernan said.