Australian shares closed higher on Thursday, recouping early losses due to gains in financial stocks, while New Zealand extended falls from the previous session as worries over surging global COVID-19 cases dampened sentiment.
The S&P/ASX 200 index <.AXJO> swung into positive territory in the last hour of trade after spending most of the session in the red, closing up 0.25% at 6,547.2 points.
U.S. stocks closed steeply lower after a late-session sell-off on Wednesday as investors weighed surging COVID-19 infections and mounting shutdowns against encouraging vaccine developments.
Adding to the risk-off mood, the state of South Australia went into strict lockdown on Thursday to stifle the latest cluster of 23 novel coronavirus infections.
A vaccine is further down the track compared to the current trend of soaring infections and restrictions hampering economic recovery, said James Tao, a market analyst at CommSec.
"The good news is kind of being pushed to one side at the moment," Tao said.
Financial stocks <.AXFJ> extended gains to a fourth day and hit their highest in more than eight months, with the "Big Four" banks climbing between 1.2% and 2.3%.
On the other side of the ledger, gold stocks <.AXGD> touched their lowest in nearly five months, as optimism over the new vaccine dented the appeal of the safe-haven commodity.
Newcrest Mining <NCM.AX> closed down 2.6% while ASX-listed shares of AngloGold Ashanti <AGG.AX> shed 4.2%.
Miners <.AXMM> shed 0.5% while energy stocks <.AXEJ> added 0.3%, helped by gains in Worley <WOR.AX> and Woodside Petroleum <WPL.AX> .
In New Zealand, the benchmark index <.NZ50> closed 0.4% lower at 12,557.13 points. Tourism Holdings <THL.NZ>, down 3.7%, was the biggest percentage loser, followed by Serko Ltd <SKO.NZ>, slipping 2%.
(Reporting by Arundhati Dutta in Bengaluru; Editing by Ramakrishnan M.)
