Australian shares rose 2.25 percent on Thursday, marking their highest close since February 2, buoyed by a pick up in energy and resource stocks following a bounce in oil and a revival in commodities companies. The S&P/ASX 200 index was up by 109.9 points at the close of trade at 4,992, near the intraday high of 4,992.60. New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index climbed 0.4 percent or 25.52 points to finish the session at 6,111.09, close to one-week high struck the session before.
The gains spread across commodity markets and helped lift miner BHP Billiton 6 percent to a six-week high. Santos rose 7.4 percent and Woodside Petroleum 3.6 percent. The overall energy index put on 3.4 percent while basic materials gained 3.9 percent. The better mood spread to financials which have suffered from a general air of risk aversion in recent weeks. Commonwealth Bank and ANZ both gained 2.3 percent. Strong earnings result lifted Sydney Airport Holdings 2.7 percent as traffic topped records in January.
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