THE ASX200 SMASHES THROUGH 5800: Here's what you need to know

Australian stocks closed higher, breaking through the key 5800 mark on the ASX200.

Today’s scoreboard:

• ASX 200: 5,833.90 +61.13 +1.06%
• All Ordinaries: 5,862.20 +60.37 +1.04%
• AUD/USD: 0.7554 +0.0016 +0.21%

Stronger bank stocks again pushed the local market higher, adding another 1% to Tuesday's 1.67% surge, the best one day gain in seven months.

Wall Street was stronger overnight with the S&P500 closing 0.5% higher.

On the ASX, Westpac added 1.6% to close at $31.32 and the Commonwealth 1.4% to $82.30.

Among other financials, Macquarie was up 1.5% to $90.30 and the AMP 1.4% to $5.10.

Telco Vocus was up 1.3% to $3.68 after saying it's on track to make between $160 million and $165 million in full year underlying profit.

CSL was up another 3% today to close at $142.04. The Blood products group yesterday announced t was buying an 80% stake in Chinese biotech, Ruide, for $US352 million ($A466 million).

Top stories:

1. The Ten Network goes into voluntary administration. The decision follows the refusal by two billionaire shareholders to increase or extend a $200 million credit facility past December. Also read: Media shares surge on the back of Ten's fall.

2. Lachlan Murdoch and Bruce Gordon are working on a plan to save Ten. Together they control almost a quarter of the company. Murdoch’s Illyria Pty Limited has 7.7% of the network and Gordon’s Birketu Pty Limited 15%.

3. Telstra is cutting 1400 jobs. The telco confirmed the cuts but declined to comment further while staff were being briefed. Also read: This is the memo Telstra's CEO sent to staff.

4. Tyro's CEO just resigned after just 8 months. Gerd Schenkel is going to work on “other business opportunities” and spend additional time with his family.

5. Middle Australia thinks it's doing it tougher than everyone else. The latest Westpac-MI consumer sentiment report for June shows the change in sentiment levels by demographic group, both over the past month and from a year ago.

6. These Australian companies are ripe to be hit by activist shareholders. Analysts at Credit Suisse have picked eight companies that would make ideal targets.

7. Super Retail thinks the threat from Amazon has been overstated. The arrival of Amazon in Australia won’t be as bad for the operator of Rebel, Supercheap Auto and BCF stores as some think.

8. Millennials' lack of self-belief is holding them back. A leading Australian tech exec says women working in STEM is a bigger problem than many are letting on.

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