(Reuters) - Australian shares moved off from a choppy session to end higher on Wednesday as markets enjoyed some relief after Democrats won control of the U.S. House of Representatives as expected.
The broadly in-line results ensured no big shakeout in markets, with stocks in Asia and U.S. futures losing just a bit of steam after days of uncertain trade ahead of the U.S. midterm elections.
The S&P/ASX 200 index <.AXJO> climbed 0.37 percent or 21.700 points to 5,896.900 at the close of trade. The benchmark rose nearly 1 percent on Tuesday.
"The risk was that one side would get both Houses because if the Republicans got both they'd drive for tax cuts, while if the Democrats got both they'd push pack everything," said Mathan Somasundaram, market portfolio strategist at Blue Ocean Equities.
"But with these results, there shouldn't be too much damage by either party... so you're seeing a relief rally coming through."
Financial stocks <.AXFJ> were the biggest boost to the index, closing 0.6 percent up, with Commonwealth Bank of Australia <CBA.AX> rising 0.7 percent and Westpac Banking Corp <WBC.AX> edging 0.9 percent higher.
"Nobody is buying the banks domestically right now, it's just currency play for the global investors. They want to stay out of the emerging markets as they wait for President (Donald) Trump to respond to this election cycle," Somasundaram said.
While most sectors ticked up towards the end, the metals and mining index <.AXMM> edged down after steel and iron ore futures took a hit as Beijing eased production curbs for winter as part of its winter anti-smog drive.
Global miner BHP <BHP.AX> fell 0.7 percent and was the biggest drag on the index while Newcrest Mining Ltd <NCM.AX> slipped 0.3 percent.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index <.NZ50> gained 0.44 percent or 38.3700 points to finish at 8,854.7900.
Energy stocks Z Energy Ltd <ZEL.NZ> jumped 4.9 percent while Contact Energy Ltd <CEN.NZ> gained 3 percent.
(Reporting by Rashmi Ashok in Bengaluru; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
