SYDNEY/WELLINGTON, March 3 (Reuters) - Australian shares climbed 0.8 percent on Thursday as gains in commodity prices lifted the mining sector, while upbeat U.S. jobs data gave a fillip to risk sentiment generally.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO rose 40 points to 5061.5, adding to Wednesday's 2 percent rally and its highest in almost two months.
A break of the February peak of 5,073 would be bullish technically and could open the way for a rise toward 5,300.
The gains were led by resource stocks after iron ore climbed above $51 a tonne to levels last seen in October. The ASX 300 Metals & Mining Index .AXMM rose 2.4 percent to its highest since mid-November.
BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) Ltd BHP.AX put on 3.2 percent, aided further by news it and Vale SA VALE5.SA had reached a deal with Brazil to cover the costs of a deadly dam spill in November. better mood in markets globally helped the banks, which were still basking in the glow of surprisingly strong economic growth figures out on Wednesday.
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group ANZ.AX led the way with a rise of 2.5 percent, bringing its gains since Tuesday to more than 7 percent.
That was the largest two-day rise since late 2011 and reflected in part how short speculators had become on banking stocks.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 hit a record high, with gains across consumer, telecoms and banking stocks. The index added 0.66 percent, or 41.68 points, to 6,354.75.
The biggest gainers included Fletcher Building FBU.NZ which rose almost 3 percent, while Spark SPK.NZ added 1.8 percent and Meridian Energy MEL.NZ 1.8 percent.
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(Editing by Kim Coghill)