Australian equities gain 0.4 percent; banks lead

Australian shares rose 0.4 percent on Friday, with banks gaining on financial stocks rally in Wall Street and miners climbing on higher commodity prices. Local investors took heart from US stocks largely shrugging off a sharp spike in Chinese inflation that raised fears of overheating in the world's third-largest economy, and Australia's largest trading partner.
US banks led Wall St higher on hopes new regulations may be watered down, while Citigroup shares jumped as the chief executive painted a bright picture of future profitability.
"It's our financials that are leading the charge today...with those comments from Citigroup feeding through to positive sentiment for our banks," said AMP Capital Investors head of Investment Strategy Shane Oliver.