THE Australian share market recovered from its lower opening today to be up at noon, feeding off a stronger dollar and solid economic growth figures.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 9.1 points, or 0.21 per cent, at 4,422.2, while the broader All Ordinaries index had gained 7.3 points, or 0.16 per cent, at 4,444.

On the Sydney Futures Exchange, the June share price index futures contract was 12 points higher at 4,422, on volume of 24,556 contracts.

RBS Morgans director of equities in Brisbane, Bill Chatterton, said the market saw a turnaround at about 1130 AEST, when the Australian Bureau of Statistics released gross domestic product (GDP) figures for the March quarter.

GDP rose by a seasonally adjusted 0.5 per cent in the March quarter, compared with an upwardly revised 1.1 per cent in the December quarter.

Over the year to March, GDP rose 2.7 per cent.

"(The GDP figures) are not brilliant but it's certainly positive so that could have had a short term impact on what we're seeing,'' Mr Chatterton said.

"The Aussie currency is also in positive territory, so that may be helping us.''

The Australian dollar was worth 83.62 US cents at 1202 AEST.

Money had flowed into the major resources stocks since the opening, sending BHP Billiton up 16 cents to $38.35 and Rio Tinto up 66 cents at $67.54.

The major banks had also recovered ground, with National Australia Bank up one cent at $24.35, Commonwealth Bank down seven cents at $50.92, ANZ flat at $22.30, and Westpac down eight cents at $22.67.

The local market received a weak lead from Wall Street overnight, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average index fell by  1.11 per cent.

One of the worst performing stocks on Wednesday is Insurance Australia Group, with its stocks down 20 cents, or 5.54 per cent, at $3.41.

IAG cut its full year insurance margin guidance on Wednesday, following a pre-tax charge of $365 million and an $86 million impairment on its UK business.

Other insurers also were down, with Suncorp off 12 cents at $7.93 and QBE down 47 cents to $18.72.

"They're really not the flavour of the month at the moment, and IAG's news has not helped at all,'' Mr Chatterton said.
Among the better performers was Telstra, up six cents, or 2.03 per cent, to $3.01.

Mr Chatterton was unsure of the reason for Telstra's rise, but said it may relate to speculation about its negotiations with the federal government over the implementation of the national broadband network.

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