AUSTRALIAN STOCKS NOSE AHEAD: Here's what you need to know

Australian stocks closed higher.

Today’s scoreboard:

• ASX 200: 5,717.90 +10.83 +0.19%
• All Ordinaries: 5,756.00 +8.33 +0.14%
• AUD/USD: 0.7443 +0.0004 +0.05%

The local market reversed falls in early trade to coast to positive close.

The banks, which have been punished in recent sessions, put on weight with the NAB up 1.5% to $29.73 and the Commonwealth 0.7% to $79.44.

Among the miners, BHP added 0.6% to $24.00 and Rio Tinto 0.9% to $63.27.

Insurer IAG was up 2.7% to $6.40 after a broker upgrade.

Xref added 3% to $0.505 after the human resources technology company announced a deal with English Premier League champions Chelsea.

Top stories:

1. How Australia's biggest tax fraud syndicate was brought down. It started with a routine inquiry by the Australian Tax Office (ATO). Also read: Allegations strike at the "heart and values of those who work at the ATO".

2. Australian building approvals rebound. But the overall trend remains lower.

3.Have Australian financial stocks corrected? “The sector looks in terrible shape at the moment and the trend is firmly lower.”

4. MYOB founder Craig Winkler just backed a Sydney fintech's $5 million funding round. Practice Ignition creates accounting software.

5. The ACCC is taking NIB to court over its gap cover. The health insurer now faces proceedings in the Federal Court for failing to communicate the changes made to its MediGap Scheme to customers. nib shares closed down 4.6% TO $$5.140

6. Australia's mortgage risk. The Australian banking regulator has released the quarterly property exposure statistics of lenders.

7. An even bigger price surge than Bitcoin. The world's 2nd largest crypto-currency Ethereum.

8. The 20 best Australian jobs of 2017. Global jobs site Indeed has for the first time released analysis of its search data for Australia.

9. A Sydney house with a bomb shelter. The 1920s Californian bungalow featuring four bedrooms and an immaculately kept garden seems normal from the front.

10. A perfect 60-metre barrel. A Queensland wavepool startup.

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