Market defies Wall Street decline AUSTRALIAN stocks were higher at noon, as strong gains from the major miners and oil producers offset weakness among the big retail banks. BBY private client adviser Henry Jennings said stocks were always likely to rally on Friday, given the steep declines of recent days perhaps left the market oversold. "Yesterday's hit was probably way overdone," Mr Jennings said. We were always going to bounce today as long as the Dow didn't drop 200 points. Gold stocks were up 3.43 per cent, while the metals and minerals sector had risen 3.09 per cent as market players looked past a negative lead from Wall Street. However, financial stocks were off 0.51 per cent. Making news on Friday, Santos has maintained full year targets even though first quarter oil production fell. Santos was up 26 cents, or 2.28 per cent, at $11.64. Rio Tinto told shareholders at its annual general meeting in London overnight it was a mistake to purchase aluminium maker Alcan six years ago and as a result the company was now more likely to favour some commodities over others. Rio was up $2.05, or 3.94 per cent, at $54.12, while BHP was up 79 cents, or 2.58 per cent, at $31.44. Mr Jennings said market players were in a cautious mood heading into the weekend, given the upcoming Group of 20 nations summit to be held in Washington DC. "We have seen a big fall in these resources stocks and we are seeing some buying on back of it but it is pretty tentative," Mr Jennings said. A strong rebound in resources-linked companies, which have been hit hard in recent days, were leading the broader market higher at the start of trade. RBS Morgans private client adviser Bill Bishop said the gains reflected the fact the market had perhaps been oversold in recent days. "There is a bit of relief in the market," Mr Bishop said. However, Friday morning's positive start did not necessarily mean the selloff was over. "People are slowly working out that the resources boom is not what it was and they are adjusting prices accordingly," Mr Bishop said. I can't tell you whether this is a dead cat bounce or the real thing, but nevertheless the market is up and we like that. Earlier, At 0710 AEST today, the June share price index futures contract was 12 points lower at 4,920 points, with 4,431 contracts traded. In New York yesterday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.56 per cent to 14,537.14 points, while the broad-based S&P500 slid 0.67 per cent to 1,541.61 points. Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index ended down 1.2 per cent at 3,166.36. In economics news today, the Commonwealth Bank business sales indicator for March is due for release. Also, the Australian government will auction $600 million of June 2016 Treasury Bonds. In companies news, Hills Holdings holds a shareholder meeting on the company's restructure plans. Meanwhile, Lynas Corp and Santos are due to release their quarterly production reports. Today, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index fell 1.6 per cent to 4,924.4 points, while the broader All Ordinaries finished 1.65 per cent lower at 4,911.3 points.