Energy and healthcare sectors aided Australian shares to settle 4% firmer on Monday, as coronavirus infections in key countries appeared to slow down, lifting investor appetite for risky bets.
The S&P/ASX 200 index was up 4.3% at 5,286.80 at the close of trade, after the benchmark closed 1.7% down on Friday.
"The improved sentiment in global markets is on signs that the rate of growth in new COVID-19 cases in several key places is slowing down. Most pertinently, I think the fall in new cases in New York, Spain and Italy," said Kyle Rodda, a market analyst at IG Markets.
Energy stocks climbed 6.04%, gaining the most among the benchmark's sub-indexes, despite a fall in oil prices after Saudi Arabia and Russia postponed their meeting to Thursday.
Industry heavyweight Santos closed 8.5% higher, while Woodside petroleum gained 6.4%.
The healthcare sub-index settled up 4.9%, helped by CSL that climbed 5.2% to close at its highest since Feb. 25, while Cochlear finished 5.1% up.
Financial stocks ended nearly 5% higher, with all the "Big Four" banks in the positive territory.
Australia's largest lender Commonwealth Bank of Australia advanced 3.9% at session end, while peer Westpac Banking Corp gained 5.4%.
Mining stocks rose 4.3%, with the world's biggest miner BHP Group finishing 4.8% higher at a one-month peak, while Rio Tinto climbed 1.6%.
Meanwhile, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index dropped 1.7% to finish the session at 9,763.82.
Kathmandu Holdings tumbled 9.1% to close at its lowest since March 30, while movie software maker Vista Group fell 9%.