Australia, NZ: Australia shares hit near two-month high, NZ shares strike record

[MELBOURNE] Australian shares finished up by 1.19 per cent on Thursday, having struck the highest since early this year as rising commodities prices boosted resources stocks, and helped fan risk appetite that also sent New Zealand shares to a record.

The S&P/ASX 200 index ended at the session's peak of 5081.1 points, which was the loftiest since Jan 7; the benchmark climbed more than one per cent on Wednesday.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index hit a record at 6383.63 points, before closing up 1.1 per cent or 67.79 points at 6380.86.

REUTERS