(Reuters) - Australian shares closed more than 1 percent higher on Thursday as a 'flash crash' in the local currency bolstered the appeal of export-oriented stocks, with gold stocks topping the gains.
The S&P/ASX 200 index <.AXJO> gained across the board to close 1.4 percent higher at 5,633.4. The benchmark lost 1.6 percent on Wednesday.
Broader Asian shares were left shaken after a rare revenue warning from Apple Inc added to worries about slowing global growth and weaker earnings. [MKTS/GLOB]
The news sparked a rout in holiday-thinned currency markets as investors opted for less risky assets, but the Aussie dollar plumbing multi-year lows proved a blessing for export stocks in the region.
The materials and mining sub-index <.AXMM> gained 0.9 percent for the day, with gold stocks <.AXGD> claiming the spotlight. Shares of gold miner Evolution Mining Ltd <EVN.AX> advanced 5 percent to hit a record high.
The banking index <.AXFJ> also saw solid buying, up 1.8 percent. The "big four" banks gained between 1.2 percent and 2.3 percent.
Positive sentiment spilled over into the healthcare sector <.AXHJ> as well, propelling the sub-index 1.6 percent higher to its best close since Nov. 2018. Shares of biotherapeutics firm CSL Ltd <CSL.AX> added 2.2 percent.
Meanwhile, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index <.NZ50> ended 0.9 percent, or 78.9 points lower in its first trading session of the year, at 8,732.37.
Shares of Kathmandu Holdings <KMD.NZ> weighed on the main index as they fell 13.5 percent to their worst close in over 6 months after reporting a 1 percent drop in its same-store sale for 22 weeks ending Dec. 20, 2018.
(Reporting by Devika Syamnath in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
