Australian shares rose 0.1 percent on Monday, supported by miners and retailers following upbeat US growth figures, though they pared early gains due to uncertainty as Wall Street markets were set to close because of a massive storm. US economic growth accelerated in the third quarter to a 2 percent annual rate as a last minute spurt in consumer spending and a surprise turnaround in government outlays offset the first cutback in business investment in more than a year.
Among miners, Lynas Corp Ltd surged 2.9 percent and Rio Tinto Ltd gained 0.8 percent, though BHP Billiton Ltd fell 0.1 percent. Retailer Westfield gained 1 percent while supermarket giant Woolworths Ltd added 0.3 percent. The S&P/ASX 200 index inched up 4.5 points to 4,476.9. The benchmark fell 0.8 percent on Friday to end the week down 2.15 percent, its biggest weekly fall since May.
Woodside Petroleum Ltd rose 0.2 percent while Caltex surged 1.4 percent. The benchmark index had earlier risen as high as 4,501.9 but trimmed gains due to news that US stock and options markets will be closed on Monday, and possibly Tuesday because of Hurricane Sandy. New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index lost 0.8 percent to 3,951.3 points.