Australian shares climbed to a near one-year high and New Zealand stocks struck a record close on Thursday, amid growing expectations of further monetary easing this year. The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 23.7 points, or 0.4 percent, to close at 5,512.4, its highest since August 6, 2015. The benchmark has risen for 10 of the past 11 sessions.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index closed up 41.4 points, or 0.6 percent, to finish the session at 7,214.1, its third straight day of closing at an all-time high. Gold miners weighed on the index, but other sectors all rose, with the health, retail and financial stocks all showing gains. In the healthcare sector Cochlear Ltd, which manufactures implants to treat hearing loss, added 2.89 percent and biopharmaceutical researcher CSL Ltd climbed 2.1 percent. Retailers Woolworths and Wesfarmers rose 1 percent and 0.4 percent respectively. Agribuisness company Graincorp Ltd added 1.3 percent.
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