SYDNEY/WELLINGTON: Australian shares added 0.4 percent on Friday, underpinned by financials and yield stocks, although the index fell from its highs after reports a doctor who had recently returned to New York from West Africa had tested positive for Ebola.
The doctor was working for humanitarian organisation Doctors Without Borders in Guinea, one of three West African countries hardest hit by the Ebola outbreak.
High-yielding financials underpinned the index, with Commonwealth Bank of Australia rising 0.7 percent and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group up 0.3 percent.
"I am a happy buyer of Australian yield stocks, especially the ones going ex-dividend in November," said Alexander Aguilan, an investment adviser at Market Matters in a note, mentioning ANZ and Bank of Queensland.
"I believe the current anticipated strength will allow investors to keep the dividends without capital loss."
The S&P/ASX 200 index had added 20.5 points to 5,403.6 by 0134 GMT after touching a session high of 5,420.6.
The benchmark, which ended flat on Thursday, is set to climb 2.5 percent on the week, which would be its best performance since February.
It lost almost 6 percent in September and hit a low last seen in February at 5,122.2 on Oct. 13, but it has since rebounded some 280 points, supported by receding worries about global growth and as investors bought into battered stocks.
The healthcare sector was up 1.1 percent, with Ramsay Healthcare Ltd adding 0.8 percent to touch a 1-1/2-month high of A$51.52, while regnerative medicine product company Mesoblast Ltd jumped 2.7 percent.
Resmed jumped 5.2 percent after reporting first quarter revenue at $380.4 million versus an I/B/E/S view of $374.8 million.
Miners drifted lower as iron ore for immediate delivery to China lost 1.9 percent to $80.29 a tonne. Rio Tinto Ltd dipped 0.4 percent and Lynas Corporation Ltd fell 5.5 percent.
Rio Tinto Ltd gave its chief excutive an open-ended job contract on Thursday in a move seen likely to strengthen the mining group's defences after it disclosed a rebuffed takeover approach from rival Glencore.
Qantas Airways Ltd climbed 3.1 percent after the embattled carrier said preliminary figures indicated it had made an underlying profit before tax for the first quarter of its 2015 financial year.
Building fixtures company GWA Group Ltd rose 1.3 percent after saying first-quarter sales revenue had grown 7 percent.
The New Zealand stock market set a record high for the third session in a row as investors snapped up stocks across the board. The benchmark NZX-50 index hit a high of 5,344.43, up 0.9 percent, before easing back to last trade 0.8 percent higher at 5,336.17.
The gains were driven by pay television operator Sky TV , which was 3.4 percent higher at NZ$6.13 after it told shareholders it expected higher earnings and would look to upgrade its customer receivers and roll out new services.
It also reported it had reached a conditional agreement to screen the Super 15 rugby competition until 2021.
Most other top 10 stocks, which dominate the main index, were stronger, with telephone company Spark up 1.5 percent at NZ$3.08.
A large number of companies are holding annual meetings this month and so far have reported largely positive trading and earnings outlooks. New Zealand markets will be closed on Monday for a public holiday.
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