SYDNEY/WELLINGTON: Australian shares settled higher on Tuesday for the seventh straight session, as financials jumped on some economic optimism and dividend hopes, and technology stocks tracked Wall Street higher. The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 1% to 6,195.70, adding about 7% during the seven sessions of gains through Tuesday.

Financials closed 1.7% higher, after having hit their highest level since Aug. 12 earlier in the session, with the "Big Four" banks adding between 1.7% and 3.3%. Technology stocks tracked a rally in their US peers, particularly in Apple Inc and Amazon.com, and rose 1.6% to a record.

The communication services sector closed 2.4% higher, boosted by Telstra Corp's more than 4% gain after the telecom company retained its annual dividend. In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index gained 0.79% to a record close of 12,453.9. New Zealand-listed shares of Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd were the top gainers, up 3.63%.