By Hanna Paul
Nov 11 (Reuters) - Australia and New Zealand shares held onto gains made in the previous session, with financial stocks among the leading gainers on Friday as investors found grounds for optimism among some of President-elect Donald Trump's economic policies.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO gained 0.3 percent, or 18.665 points to 5347.500 by 1237 GMT. The benchmark had closed 3.3 percent higher on Thursday.
As the initial bearish reaction to Trump's schock victory subsided, investors have turned their attention to his likely priorities. Those included bank deregulation, generous tax cuts and increased defense and infrastructure spending, and the likelihood that the looser fiscal policy will lead to inflation and interest rate rises. MKTS/GLOB
Financial stocks were the star performers, with the "Big 4" topping the lists, gaining around 2 percent to 3 percent. Commonwealth Bank of Australia, CBA.AX the country's biggest bank by market cap, rose to its highest in over two weeks, gaining as much as 2.5 percent.
S&P ASX Financials (GIC) .AXFJ rose as much as 1.9 percent in early trade.
"Materials are doing reasonably well over the expectations of more progress(ive) policy out of the US," Damien Hennessy, co founder of Heuristic Investment Systems, said.
Copper CMCU3 rose to a near 16-month high on expectations that the Republican presidency could unleash a flood of infrastructure spending. MET/L
Iron ore surged 4.7 percent .IO62-CNI=SI to its highest since January 2015. stocks also brightened up with mining heavyweights BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) BHP.AX and Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) Ltd RIO.AX gaining more than 2 percent.
Mining giant South32 Ltd S32.AX jumped 4.8 percent, its highest in almost 19 years.
At the same time, gold prices took a beating, falling more than 5 percent after the U.S. dollar rose to a 3-1/2 month high on speculation regarding Trump's economic policies. Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 was up 34.840 points, or 0.5 percent,at 6,768.56 as of 1012 GMT.
Healthcare stocks have led gains in that market since Thursday, with Fisher and Paykel Health Corporation FPH.NZ up 1.1 percent. Material stocks also helped gains with Fletcher Building Ltd FBU.NZ rising almost one percent.
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