Dec 24 Australian shares rose about 1 percent on Thursday in a shortened Christmas Eve session, taking a cue from Wall Street and helped by strong gains in banks and resources stocks.
The S&P/ASX 200 index jumped 54.12 points to 5,195.9 by 0006 GMT, heading for its seventh straight day of gains. It added 0.5 percent on Wednesday.
The benchmark is set for its longest winning streak since late January when it clocked 12 consecutive gains. Most analysts expect the market to continue the positive trend into the New Year.
The index is also set for its best quarterly performance since the Jan-March period.
Despite recent gains, the benchmark is still down about 4 percent for the year, heading for its first annual loss since 2011 but is expected to rebound in 2016 to 5,625 points, a Reuters poll found.
All sectors contributed to the rally on Thursday. The "big four" banks including Commonwealth Bank, ANZ Bank and Westpac were all up over 1 percent while top investment bank Macquarie added 1 percent.
Major miners BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto climbed 4.3 percent and 3.3 percent respectively.
Energy-related shares also joined the rally with LNG surging nearly 10 percent while Origin Energy rising 7 percent.
Some stocks such as Aurizon and Slater & Gordon remained downbeat.
Aurizon tumbled 3 percent following price target cuts by brokerages after it slashed guidance, while Slater & Gordon slipped 1 percent on concerns about a legal action by a rival law firm over its financial disclosures.
U.S. stocks rallied for a third consecutive session on Wednesday, propelled by sharp gains in energy stocks.
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New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index continued to break new records, up 0.4 percent at 6,219.91.
The biggest gainers were A2 Milk (ATM.NZ), which added 8.9 percent as investors remained keen on the stock into year end after its recent upbeat guidance.
The biggest losers included Fisher & Paykel Healthcare , down 1.1 percent, possibly weighed by the strong New Zealand dollar.
Trading overall was very thin ahead of a four-day holiday weekend for Christmas. The stock market closes early Thursday.
Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/australia-stocks-midday-idUSL3N14D05Q20151224
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