(Reuters) - Australian shares closed higher on Wednesday, supported by gains in material stocks on the back of a rally in metal prices.
Investor sentiment was also boosted by broader Asian markets which hit a 10-year high as a feast of upbeat manufacturing surveys confirmed a synchronised upturn in the world economy was well under way. [MKTS/GLOB]
The S&P/ASX 200 index <.AXJO> climbed 0.2 percent, or 9.1 points, to 6,070.4. It had closed slightly lower in the previous session.
The metals and mining index <.AXMM> rose 1.7 percent to its highest close since February 2013, after zinc scaled a 10-year peak on Tuesday as the market focused on looming deficits due to declining supplies. [MET/L]
BHP Billiton <BHP.AX> advanced 1.7 percent to its highest close in 32 months, while fellow mining heavyweight Rio Tinto Ltd <RIO.AX> extended gains into an eleventh session to close at its highest since August 2011.
Oil prices hovered around their mid-2015 highs touched in the previous session, providing a boost to energy stocks.
Woodside Petroleum <WPL.AX> added a little over 1 percent and closed at a seven-month high, making it the top gainer on the energy index.
Sandfire Resources NL <SFR.AX> was the top gainer on the main stock index with a jump of 3.7 percent to a near five-year closing high.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index <.NZ50> rose 0.32 percent, or 26.83 points, to a record close of 8,424.91 on its first day of trade in 2018.
Materials, industrials and consumer staples led the gains. Fletcher Building Ltd <FBU.NZ> gained nearly 2 percent, while Auckland International Airport <AIA.NZ> rose 1.5 percent to its highest close in two weeks.
(Reporting by Christina Martin in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)
