Australia: Shares stage biggest rally in a month on upbeat jobs data

[SYDNEY] Australian shares rose the most in a month on Thursday as better-than-expected jobs data encouraged investors to shrug off dwindling chances of an imminent rate cut to buy blue-chip yield stocks.

After falling slightly at the open, the S&P/ASX 200 index recovered following the mid-morning data release to close up 1 per cent or 57.0 points at 5850.2, its biggest one-day advance since Feb 13.

New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index rose 24.8 points or 0.4 percent to finish the session at 5886.8.

REUTERS