Australian shares closed near a six-week high on Friday, led by health care stocks, after Wall Street climbed on strong earnings and a drop in US Treasury yields. The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.7 percent or 42.8 points to 5,953.6 to end at its highest since March 19, racking up a weekly gain of around 1.4 percent - its biggest since February. The benchmark declined 0.2 percent on Thursday.
In Australia, health care stocks accounted for most of the gains and rose to a record as positive sentiment emanating from a takeover bid for Healthscope continued to spill over to the broader sector. Meanwhile, the New Zealand benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index firmed 1.1 percent or 88.32 points to finish the session at 8,370.37, and gained 0.6 percent for the week.
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