Australian shares advanced on Tuesday, putting an end to eight consecutive days of losses as investors bought into beaten-down banks and as energy stocks firmed on higher oil prices. The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.6 percent or 38 points to 6,179.7 at the close, after giving up 2.1 points on Monday.
Banks supported the mild recovery on the day, having lost about 3.5 percent in the past eight sessions versus broad market declines of about 3.4 percent in the same period. Index heavyweight Commonwealth Bank of Australia firmed 1.6 percent and was the biggest boost to the benchmark, while investment bank Macquarie Group Ltd rose 1.8 percent.
Earlier in the day, Macquarie said it expects group's fiscal year 2019 result to be broadly in line with fiscal 2018. New South Wales-based Whitehaven Coal Ltd was among the top gainers as it jumped 3.7 percent to a near four-week high, while Origin Energy Ltd rose 3.2 percent to its highest since August 29.
In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index rose about 2 percent or 176.940 points to finish the session at 9.225.57.
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