(Reuters) - Australian shares advanced on Wednesday, driven by gains for industrials after Qantas Airways forecast a record annual profit.
The S&P/ASX 200 index <.AXJO> rose 0.6 percent or 35.0 points to 6,050.2 at the close of trade. The benchmark on Tuesday added 0.5 percent.
Australia's largest airline Qantas <QAN.AX> soared 8.1 percent, its biggest one-day gain since December 2014, to a near six-month high.
The company forecast underlying profit before tax in a range of A$1.55 billion to A$1.60 billion ($1.16 billion-$1.20 billion) for the fiscal year that will end on June 30, compared with A$1.4 billion one year earlier.
Positive sentiment emanating from the "Flying Kangaroo" spilled into other sectors, with the Australian industrials index <.AXNJ> climbing 1.5 percent to a more than four-month high.
Toll road operator Transurban Group <TCL.AX> jumped 0.6 percent to its highest since March 12, while Seek Ltd <SEK.AX> strengthened 2.4 percent to a near six-week high.
Financials <.AXFJ> extended gains into a fourth-consecutive session, as encouraging developments on big banks supported buying.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia <CBA.AX>, the biggest lender, ticked up 0.4 percent while Westpac Banking Corp <WBC.AX> rose 0.3 percent.
Grocery giant Woolworths Group Ltd <WOW.AX> rose 0.9 percent to a near three-year high. The company reported a 4.4 percent rise in third-quarter same-store food sales, beating rival Coles' performance during the same period.
In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index <.NZ50> firmed 0.7 percent or 58.27 points to finish at 8,494.24.
Consumer staples were the dominant gainers, with dairy firm a2 Milk Company Ltd <ATM.NZ> surging 3.5 percent to a near two-week high.
(Reporting by Aditya Soni in Bengaluru; Editing by Richard Borsuk)
