Australian, New Zealand shares gain

Australia shares gained on Friday helped largely by materials and health care stocks, following global markets higher after fears of an imminent US attack on Syria eased. President Donald Trump cast doubt on Thursday over the timing of his threatened strike on Syria in response to a reported poison gas attack. The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.2 percent, or 13.6 points, to 5,829.1. It fell 0.2 percent on Thursday.
Australia shares had started Friday strongly but their gains were trimmed after data showed China recording a rare trade deficit of $4.98 billion for the month of March, the first since last February. Aussie shares closed the week 0.7 percent higher, up for a second straight week. Resource stocks performed strongly, with the Australian mining index firming 0.7 percent to end at its highest close in nearly a month and a half. For the week, the sector index gained 4.3 percent as hopes grow the United States and China will be able to put aside testy rhetoric and eventually reach a compromise that will avert the risk of a trade war.
"Perhaps some of the concerns over the impact of the rhetoric and discussions around the trade wars has just been a little bit of a reassessment of what the downside actually is," said Damien Hennessy, co-founder of Heuristic Investment Systems. "I think that is kind of flowing through to the miners, and the materials sector more generally." Global miner Rio Tinto rose 2 percent to its highest close since the end of February. The stock finished a fifth straight session higher.
Mining rival BHP rose 0.3 percent, posting a sixth straight session of gains. Moving in the other direction, the financial index edged 0.1 percent lower, with National Australia Bank Ltd slipping 0.7 percent. Energy stocks were 0.1 percent lower after oil prices eased. However, prices of the world most traded commodity were set for the biggest weekly gains in more than 8 months.
Australia's energy index has tacked on 1.9 percent for the week. New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index added 0.1 percent, or 10.55 points, to 8,414.77, buttressed by materials and health care stocks. Homebuilder Fletcher Building Ltd ended at a three-week closing high on media reports that Australia's Wesfarmers Ltd was accumulating Fletcher stock. The firm's shares closed 8.6 percent higher but it said it could neither confirm nor deny such reports.