Australian shares rebound on solid Wall Street; NZ rises

[BENGALURU] Australian shares rose on Tuesday after a solid performance on Wall Street, with financials and healthcare sectors underpinning the market.

The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.76 per cent or 40.9 points, to 5408.486 by 0013 GMT, snapping two days of losses.

An overnight rally in Wall Street thanks to strong corprorate earnings and a flurry of acquisitions boosted risk appetite globally.

Investors also shrugged off concerns surrounding a potential interest rate hike in the United States despite the latest comment from a Federal Reserve official that the US central bank will raise its policy rate three more times by the end of next year.

"We're seeing a reasonably solid lead from offshore overnight after the American market rose," said James McGlew, executive director of corporate stockbroking at Argonaut.

"There is quite a strong bounce back in healthcare stocks that were being knocked around last week." he added.

Shares of Healthscope Ltd rebounded from previous session's losses, rising as much as 4 per cent for its biggest percentage gain in two months.

The 'big four' banks moved into the positive ledger with Westpac Banking Corp gaining for a third straight session to hit a two-month high, while National Australia Bank Ltd rose as much as one per cent to post its biggest percentage rise in three weeks.

Big cap miners Rio Tinto Ltd and Fortescue Metals Group Ltd rose 0.8 per cent and 1.9 per cent respectively.

Aconex Ltd, the top performer on the benchmark index, rose 9.7 per cent after announcing upbeat guidance for 2017.

On the downside, the gold index fell 1.6 per cent after prices of the yellow metal slipped on Monday on a strong US dollar. Energy stocks remained under pressure on weaker crude prices with the energy index falling for a third straight session.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index rose 0.43 per cent, led by gains in consumer cyclical stocks. Shares of Fletcher Building Ltd was up more than 2 per cent, its biggest percentage rise in about two weeks.

Shares of Air New Zealand Ltd, one of the best performers on the index, was up more than 2 per cent, while Auckland International Airport rallied for a fourth staright session after reporting strong September traffic data.

REUTERS