MELBOURNE: Australian shares rose 0.3 percent on Thursday, regaining some stability after this week's 3 percent fall on fresh signs Greece can avert a chaotic debt default, although buyers remained cautious ahead of local employment numbers.
Major banks and pension funds threw their weight behind Greece's bond swap offer to private creditors on Wednesday. .
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was up 13 points at 4,156.9 by 2315 GMT, the first gain after three straight days of losses to two-month lows. Miners, banks and energy firms rose.
New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index rose 0.2 percent to 3,411.1 points.
The New Zealand central bank held its benchmark cash rate steady at 2.5 percent on Thursday for an eighth consecutive review, as expected.
Australia's February employment data is due at 0030 GMT. Employment is forecast to rise of 5,000, with the unemployment rate seen up a notch at 5.2 percent.
A rise in unemployment or an easing of inflation could see Australian policy makers cut interest rates in coming months after a weaker-than-expected 0.4 percent rise in GDP in the December quarter.
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