SYDNEY/WELLINGTON: Australian shares snapped a three-session losing streak to close higher on Wednesday, after the country’s most populous state eased some Covid-19 restrictions for Christmas as new case numbers stayed low.

New South Wales, the site of a new virus outbreak in Australia, relaxed virus curbs ahead of Christmas after reporting eight locally acquired cases, unchanged from Tuesday.

The S&P/ASX 200 index ended 0.7% higher at 6,643.1, with all major indexes apart from miners and gold stocks trading in the black.

Energy stocks led gains on the benchmark, settling 1.3% higher. Woodside Petroleum and Origin Energy rose 0.9% and 1.7%, respectively.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Macquarie Group were the biggest boosts to the heavyweight financial index, which rose 0.7%. Consumer, travel and real estate stocks also saw hefty gains as easing virus curbs lifted broader sentiment.

On the flip side, miners fell 0.7% as iron ore futures dropped over 4% after the Chinese market regulator stepped up trading curbs to curtail speculative buying that had pushed the steelmaking metal’s prices to record peaks. BHP Group finished 1% lower, while Rio Tinto shed 0.5%. Across the Tasman Sea New Zealand’s benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index gained 1.4% to finish the session at a record high of 13,020.21, supported by gains in utilities and financials.