Australian shares closed 0.9 percent firmer at a 10-month high on Friday after the country's biggest insurance group rallied on a US acquisition and firmer metal prices supported mining companies. QBE Insurance shares added 7.4 percent after it said it would buy the portfolio of US insurer Balboa from Bank of America, paying $700 million for the distribution rights and portfolio transfer.
Gold miner Newcrest rose 2.4 percent after gold prices rose, while BHP Billiton added 0.8 percent. Relief that this week's Cyclone Yasi in Queensland state did not cause more damage also underpinned sentiment. Miners and insurers were helped by relief that the damage from Cyclone Yasi was not worse, while base metal prices rallied as copper hit a record high of $10,000 per tonne on fears of curtailed supply at a time of high demand.
Global miners BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, which are set to report half-year results in the next two weeks, both trudged higher. Rio firmed 0.2 percent to A$86.40. Shares in News Corp rose 2.5 percent to A$17.80, continuing its rally a day after report a doubling in second quarter earnings. Australia's central bank said Friday it would look past the impact of recent floods when setting interest rates. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index closed up 42.127 points at 4862.7. The benchmark rose 0.5 percent on Thursday.
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