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SYDNEY, Oct 23 (Reuters) - Australian shares rose 1.7 percent on Friday to a two-month high, buoyed by expectations that easy monetary policy will continue in Europe. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N12N16L
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO posted its biggest daily percentage gain since Oct.5, and closed up 87.76 points at 5,351.6. The benchmark rose 0.3 percent on Thursday.
Trading has been subdued for much of this week as investors were wary ahead of Thursday's ECB meeting and next week's policy reviews of the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan.
A sluggish start to U.S. corporate earnings season had also dulled investor appetite, but thanks to Friday's stellar performance the index ended the week up 1.7 percent.
New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index .NZ50 rose 0.8 percent or 47.07 points to 5,970.67.