SYDNEY/WELLINGTON: Australian shares closed higher for a sixth straight session on Tuesday, lifted by data showing an improvement in business sentiment in the country and tracking an overnight rally on Wall Street. The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.2% to 6,687.7, adding about 3% in the past six sessions.
Tech stocks climbed to their highest in nearly two weeks, tracking strong gains in their US peers overnight. Link Administration Holdings jumped more than 14% to lead gains on the benchmark, following a buyout bid by US firm SS&C Technologies Holdings Inc on Monday.
Energy stocks, on the other hand, saw their worst day in a week as oil prices fell on surging coronavirus cases in the United States and Europe and tightening of lockdowns to tackle them. Woodside Petroleum, however, outperformed the sub-index as its long-time chief executive said he planned to retire in the second half of 2021 amid a push for the $11 billion Scarborough gas project.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index gained 0.5% to finish the session at 12,656.02. A measure of Australian business confidence and conditions surged in November to "above average" as the country's second-largest state of Victoria emerged from a lengthy lockdown and multiple states opened their borders to each other.
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