Australia: Shares close 0.8% higher as battered banks bounce

[SYDNEY] Australian shares added 0.8 per cent on Wednesday, supoorted by a rebound in recently battered banking stocks, though sentiment remained fragile on softer-than-expected retail sales data and weakness on Wall Street.

The S&P/ASX 200 index climbed 41.3 points to 5,334.1 at the close of trade. The benchmark rose 0.5 per cent on Tuesday, but tumbled 5.9 per cent for September, its biggest monthly loss since May New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index rose 0.4 per cent or 19.5 points to finish the session at 5,274.6. - Reuters