Australian shares edged up on Thursday led by material stocks and banks although gains were capped by AMP's fall after the wealth manager was slapped with its fourth class action lawsuit.
The S&P/ASX 200 index advanced 0.5 percent or 32.2 points to 6,057.3. The benchmark added 0.5 percent on Wednesday.
Top miners BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto gained more than 2 percent each with BHP providing the biggest boost to the benchmark index.
Bank stocks also fared well with the "Big Four" banks adding up to 0.8 percent, following their US peers, but Australia's biggest wealth manager AMP Ltd closed at its worst level in more than nine years.
The company confirmed it had been served with another class action proceeding in Australia's Federal Court and said it intended to vigorously defend all proceedings.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index climbed 1 percent to end at a record of 8,899.52. The index has had three successive days of record close.
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