Australian stocks ended slightly up on Thursday, supported by shares in the country's biggest wealth manager, AMP Ltd, rising sharply on its plans to trim exposure to its troubled life insurance business. The S&P/ASX 200 index tacked on 0.2 percent, or 13.23 points, to 5,664.6 at the close of trade. The benchmark climbed 0.5 percent on Wednesday.
Real estate companies GPT Group and Westfield Corp rose 3 percent and 2.5 percent respectively.
The stocks appeared to take their lead from industry data showing the housing market remained sturdy despite a slowdown in price gains.
AMP Ltd advanced 4 percent after it said it wanted to strike a second reinsurance deal for its life insurance unit to reduce its financial exposure to the troubled business.
Among the other big gainers was AGL Energy, which ended 4.4 percent higher on news it expected electricity prices to climb further, offsetting pain in its gas business.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index rose 0.8 percent or 55.36 points to finish the session at 7,121.63, helped by expectations central bank policy will remain stimulatory for a few more years to come.
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