Australian shares rose 0.6 percent to one-month highs on Friday, driven by gains in most major sectors as investors cheered brisk jobs growth in the United States and another record night on Wall Street. The S&P/ASX 200 index climbed 33.8 points to 5,525 at the close of trade, its third consecutive day of gains. The benchmark climbed 1.2 percent on Thursday and 1.5 percent for the week, its biggest one-week gain since late February as investors have swept back into the market since the start of the new financial year.
New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index added 0.4 percent or 21.5 points to finish the session at 5,188.9. Investors continued to scoop up top-tier banking stocks, attracted by their high dividend yields of between 4.7 percent to 5.8 percent each. National Australia Bank climbed 1.1 percent, Westpac Banking Corp added 0.7 percent, and Commonwealth Bank of Australia tacked on 0.5 percent.
"In terms of the longer term, we need to see either a big structural change in the domestic economy, or see global developing economies recover markedly before seeing the ASX replicate the returns of our developed offshore peers," said Tim Radford, global investment manager at Rivkin Securities in a note. The resources sector underpinned the market as LME copper surged to a session high of $7,187.50 a tonne, while benchmark 62 percent grade iron ore for immediate delivery to China rose to $96.50 a tonne.
BHP Billiton Ltd climbed 1.1 percent to 1-month highs of A$37.63, Rio Tinto Ltd added 0.3 percent to A$62.62, its highest since mid-May, and Iluka Resources Ltd jumped 1.2 percent to 1-month highs of A$8.71. Among defensives, top telecommunications provider Telstra Corporation Ltd jumped 1 percent. Lynas Corp soared 5.6 percent after saying it expects to reach its initial output rate target by December at the latest, which would shore up its shaky cash position.
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