Australian shares edged up on Monday despite a weaker resources sector and concerns that events in France and Turkey would weigh on equities markets. The S&P/ASX 200 index ended 0.5 percent, or 28.9 points, higher 5,458.5.
Australia's Small Ordinaries index posted its ninth straight positive session, driven by investors seeking opportunities away from underperforming large financial stocks.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index finished 0.47 percent, or 33 points, higher at 7,105.95. Australia's Small Ordinaries index posted its ninth straight positive session, driven by investors seeking opportunities away from underperforming large financial stocks. It reached a four-year high on Monday.
"I think it's a bit of biding your time and markets are basically sitting around trying to work out what's going to come through," said Mathan Somasundaram, a quantitative analyst at stockbroker Baillieu Holst.
"We've got deflationary pressures in New Zealand and that's an obvious read-through to Australia, where inflation figures are due next week and the expectations are that will be weak and we will get a rate cut," he said.
Miner Whitehaven Coal Ltd extended gains, rising as much as 6.6 percent to reach a 21-month high on news that Deutsche Bank had raised its target price on the stock.
Rare earths miner Lynas Corp Ltd surged 18.4 percent to a four-month high after announcing a 30 percent rise in sales volume in the June quarter, compared with the previous quarter.
Shares in Oil Search Ltd rose as much as 3.7 percent, on news that the company's bid for Papua New Guinea-focused InterOil was topped by ExxonMobil Corp.
But overall the resources sector lost ground. BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto shares each slipped 0.7 percent while Fortescue Metals Group Ltd stocks lost 2.1 percent.
Copper-gold miner Sandfire Resources NL fell 4.5 percent and mining services company Mineral Resources Ltd lost 5.39 percent.
Financial stocks rose, with Australia's Big Four banks posting modest gains.
Forsyth Barr investment advisor Suzanne Kinnaird said with mixed offshore leads and a lack of domestic news the market was likely to continue treading water over the session.
New Zealand biggest gainers were Tower, which added 3.3 percent while the biggest loser was Vector, which was down 1.2 percent.