Australia: Shares rally on commodity bounce; NZ hits record high

[SYDNEY] Australian shares rose the most in six weeks on Wednesday as rebounding commodity prices lifted mining stocks, while New Zealand stocks climbed to a record high.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index advanced 79.1 points, or 1.6 per cent, to 5,054.7 by the close of trade, its biggest per centage gain since March 2. The benchmark is still down 4.6 per cent so far this year.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index gained 51.9 points, or 0.8 per cent, to record high of 6,777.9.

REUTERS