Australian shares closed higher on Wednesday as CSL <CSL.AX> and Cochlear <COH.AX> hit record highs and worries about the coronavirus epidemic waned as the number of new cases fell.
The two stocks helped lift the S&P/ASX 200 index <.AXJO> up 0.4% to 7,144.6 and ended two straight sessions of losses.
Hearing implant maker Cochlear jumped 11% as its rival Sonova <SOON.S> recalled some of its devices. Cochlear had fallen more than 7% since lowered its profit forecast last week.
Biotech firm CSL ended the session up 3%. Both companies tend also tend to benefit from a weaker Australian dollar, which has been declining on fears about the hit to global growth from the coronavirus outbreak. [AUD/]
Meanwhile, expectations of an interest rate cut by the country's central bank gained ground after data showed wages in the last quarter of 2019 grew at a tepid pace.
Capital Economics expects wage growth to weaken further in the coming quarters, while Citigroup said that a worsening in the unemployment rate could see a more dovish central bank.
In company news, retail-to-chemicals conglomerate Wesfarmers <WES.AX> posted a jump in first-half profit, lifting shares up nearly 3%.
Fortescue Metals Group <FMG.AX> reported a near four-fold jump in half-year profit as it cashed in on higher iron ore prices like its peers. Shares were up 0.7% as the miner offered shareholders a lower-than-expected dividend.
Faced with dwindling Chinese travellers, casino operator Crown Resorts <CWN.AX> dipped 0.3% as its half-yearly profit fell on weak gambling turnover.
The race for Caltex Australia <CTX.AX> officially turned into a two-horse race on Wednesday when the convenience store, petrol station and refinery firm said EG Group made a rival offer.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index <.NZ50> rose 0.4% to 11,981.
The rise was supported by a more than 4% bump by Fletcher Building <FBU.NZ>. The builder posted a drop in half-year profit, in line with the company's expectations, and said it would sell its Australian concrete supply business.
(Reporting by Nikhil Kurian Nainan in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)
