Australia: Shares recover to close higher as investors pick banks

[SYDNEY] Australian shares recovered from early losses to close higher on Monday as investors flooded back into banks following a sell-off and some company profit announcements beat expectations.

After dipping at the open, the S&P/ASX 200 index reversed course to finish up 0.63 per cent or 34.42 points at 5,509.2. On Friday, following ANZ's capital raising announcement, the benchmark fell 2.4 per cent, its biggest one-day fall in three years.

New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index closed down 3.6 points or less than 0.1 per cent at 5,865.0.

REUTERS