Over the week in Australia, stocks to watch have included miners, in particular gold miners, banks and property trusts.

The market had another strong week last week, adding 112 points (+2.4%) to close at 4706.

In Australian stock market news, much of the gains were driven by the mining sector, helped by a weak US dollar which boosted commodity prices.

Mining giant BHP Billiton (BHP) was up 4.3% for the week, while Rio Tinto (RIO) performed even better, up 7%.

Smaller miners also put on strong gains, with OZ Minerals (OZL) up almost 7%.

Gold miners performed very strongly early in the week, before giving up most of their gains, as gold prices closed above US$1100 an ounce for the first time ever.

In Australia stocks to watch also included the banks, which were less unified, with only half of the major banks finishing ahead for the week.

Commonwealth Bank (CBA) was the strongest of the bunch, up over 3%, buoyed by strong a strong first-quarter report.

ANZ Bank (ANZ) and National Australia Bank (NAB) both gained around half a percent, despite NAB paying out a dividend. Westpac (WBC) lost close to 3%, but this was mostly due to it also paying a dividend during the week.

The property sector was also strong, with Stockland (SGP) and Mirvac (MGR) each up 10%.

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