Australian shares added 0.6 percent on Thursday as investors took heart from a modicum of stability on Wall Street after the recent heavy tech-driven selloff, though activity was subdued ahead of the long Easter and Anzac Day holiday break. The S&P/ASX 200 index climbed 33.9 points to 5,454.2 at the close of trade. The benchmark rose 0.6 percent and is up 0.5 percent for the week, its fifth consecutive week of gains.
Elsewhere, consumer retail staple Woolworths Ltd jumped 2.1 percent to finish at an all-time closing high of A$37.09. New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index added 0.3 percent or 12.8 points to finish the session at 5,103.3.
The index-heavy finance sector underpinned the market. Westpac Banking Corp gained 0.9 percent and National Australia Bank added 0.6 percent. NAB said it has appointed Anthony Healy as managing director and chief executive officer of Bank of New Zealand, replacing Andrew Thorburn. Elsewhere, Australian businesses reported an improvement in activity last quarter as sales, profits and forward orders all picked up, helping underpin sentiment.
The energy sector tempered the market's gains, with Karoon Gas Australia Ltd losing 2.2 percent. Santos Ltd was trading flat as the company said quarterly gas production was 4 percent lower than the corresponding period. Woodside Petroleum bucked the trend, adding 0.4 percent after Australia's largest independent oil and gas producer reported a 5 percent rise in first quarter production.
NRW Holdings Ltd jumped 4 percent after being awarded a contract worth A$200 million by Samsung C & T Corporation for the construction of the Package One Works at Roy Hill. Meanwhile, Padbury Mining requested that its shares remain on a trading halt until it can provide details on investors involved in a $6 billion-plus port and rail project in Western Australia's iron ore belt. The stock last rocketed 65 percent to A$0.03 on April 11.
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