Australian shares rise, New Zealand at new record

Australian shares rose for a fourth straight session on Tuesday as investors cheered the end of political roadblocks in Britain and at home, while New Zealand stocks nudged further into record territory. The S&P/ASX 200 index climbed 0.3 percent, or 16.09 points, to 5353.20 at the close of trade. The benchmark continued to build on gains from last week.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index gained 0.24 percent or 17.01 points to finish the session at a record high of 7079.46.
Britain's ruling Conservative Party elected Theresa May prime minister, filling a leadership vacuum created by David Cameron last month when he resigned after the surprise vote to leave the European Union.
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull meanwhile held on to power at the weekend when election counters determined he won a knife-edge election after more than a week of counting.
"There does seem to be a bit of relief with Theresa May stepping forward in the U.K. and it looking like the Coalition will be able to elect Malcolm Turnbull prime minister very soon," said CMC Markets chief strategist Michael McCarthy.
"That, against the backdrop of much improved US data on Friday night, is giving investors cause to cheer."
Banks, which have been vulnerable to global economic headwinds, led the market higher, with Westpac Banking Corp up 2 percent, Commonwealth Bank of Australia up 1.2 percent, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group up 1.8 percent and National Australia Bank 1.5 percent higher.
Resources stocks also rose after prices of some key commodities such as iron ore gained ground. BHP Billiton gained 2 percent, while its spin-off South32 jumped 4 percent. Iron ore major Fortescue Metals Group gained 2.3 percent and BHP rival Rio Tinto was up 0.6 percent.
Retailers edged higher. Wesfarmers, which owns No. 2 supermarket chain Coles, was up 0.6 percent while larger rival Woolworths crept up 0.1 percent.
Metcash, another supermarket company, was up 0.9 percent.
The subsidiaries of Australian banks posted strong gains, recovering from falls the previous week after S&P's ratings downgraded Australia'a debt outlook. ANZ rose 1.82 percent and Westpac was up 1.32 percent. Fletcher Building was up 1.14 percent while Sky City rose 2.19 percent.
Telecommunications infrastructure provider Chorus rose 0.7 percent as the government sought views on telecommunications regulations favoured by Chorus.