* Australia & NZ shares gain for 4th straight session
* Financials lead gains in Australia (Updates to close)
Feb 26 (Reuters) - Australian shares closed higher for a fourth straight session on Monday, tracking a strong finish on Wall Street after the Federal Reserve eased concerns over its monetary policy stance for the year.
The Fed on Friday said it expected economic growth to remain steady and saw no serious risks on the horizon that might pause its planned pace of rate hikes, sending U.S. stocks higher. .N
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO rose 0.7 percent, or 42.4 points to 6,042.2, hitting a three-week high.
The 'Big Four' banks fueled much of the gains, rising between 1.3 percent and 1.9 percent. The benchmark financials index .AXFJ closed up 1.2 percent.
Retailer Woolworths Group WOW.AX closed 2.1 percent higher while Woodside Petroleum Ltd WPL.AX climbed 1.8 percent.
Top miner BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) BHP.AX closed 0.6 percent higher, and served as the biggest boost to the benchmark Metals & Mining index .AXMM .
Base metal prices climbed on Monday, bolstered by reports over the weekend that base metal imports to China surged in January, underlining the country's healthy demand. MET/L
But QBE Insurance Group QBE.AX dropped over 3 percent after reporting an annual loss of $1.25 billion, hurt by claims from natural disasters. country's second-largest insurer by market size also said it will sell its Latin American business to Zurich Insurance ZURN.S for $408 million to focus on other markets.
Newcrest Mining NCM.AX shares closed 1.2 percent lower after announcing it had bought a 27 percent stake in Canadian miner Lundin Gold Inc LUG.TO for $250 million. heavyweight Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) RIO.AX inched 0.3 percent lower.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 rose 0.5 percent, or 38.81 points, to close at 8,340.53, marking a fourth consecutive session of gains.
Summerset Group Holdings SUM.NZ hit a record high and was the top gainer on the index, followed by Z Energy Ltd ZEL.NZ , which closed up 3.6 percent.
Summerset shares have been on the rise since the company reported a 54 percent jump in full-year profit on Friday.