Sydney - Australian stocks took their cue from Wall Street in early trading Tuesday with a 2-per-cent surge at the opening bell.

But the rally was not maintained and the ASX 200 ended the day 28 points, or 0.8 per cent, higher at 3,579.

The Australian dollar also added value, punching above 70 US cents.

Wall Street rocketed 7 per cent on Monday in response to the US government's plan to help banks remove bad assets from their books and a report showing a surprising increase in home sales. (dpa)