Australian shares ended higher on Thursday, following a firmer finish on Wall Street, as mining and energy stocks rallied on the back of higher commodity and oil prices.
The S&P/ASX 200 index <.AXJO> rose 0.68% to 6,042.2 at the close of trade. It had earlier risen as much as 0.8% after all three major U.S. indexes booked gains overnight on a surprise profit from Disney and hopes for a new coronavirus relief package. [.N]
The benchmark pulled back slightly after the domestic government hiked its unemployment forecast due to the reimposition of restrictions in the country's second-most populous state of Victoria.
"The market is still benefiting from the afterglow of the Wall Street performance, but after the not-so-good domestic news it is just managing to hold on to the gains", said James Tao, market analyst at CommSec.
Australian stocks have rallied nearly 40% after hitting their lowest this year in March, but a recent jump in domestic coronavirus infections and the reimposition of lockdowns have weighed on investor sentiment.
Leading the gains on Thursday, mining stocks <.AXMM> surged more than 2% as iron ore and base metal prices jumped and gold steaded near record highs. [IRONORE/] [MET/L] [GOL/]
Global miners BHP Group <BHP.AX> and Rio Tinto <RIO.AX> gained 4.9% and 1.5%, respectively.
Energy companies Santos Ltd <STO.AX> and Ampol Ltd <ALD.AX> advanced 3.8% and 2.2%, respectively, after oil prices hit a five-month high overnight. [O/R]
The country's largest financial advisory firm, AMP Ltd <AMP.AX>, said on Thursday the chief executive of its domestic wealth arm resigned, as the unit navigates hefty outflows and lawsuits. Its stock gained 0.7%.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index <.NZ50> closed largely flat, as losses in healthcare and consumer stocks offset gains made by financial stocks.
(Reporting by Soumyajit Saha in Bengaluru; Editing by Aditya Soni)
