* Drop in coronavirus cases lifts sentiment
* Qantas Airways rises 8.4%, marks best session since May 2018
* NZ index scales 12,000 level for first time ever
By Sameer Manekar
Feb 20 (Reuters) - Australian shares scaled a record high on Thursday, tracking Wall Street, as expectations of more stimulus from China amid the coronavirus outbreak and a big drop in confirmed new cases boosted risk sentiment.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO was up 0.4% at 7,175.70, as of 0010 GMT, just two points lower than the record peak of 7,177.4 hit in early trade.
China, Australia's largest trading partner, is expected to cut its benchmark lending rate on Thursday, according to a survey of traders and analysts, after the central bank lowered the interest rate on medium-term loans earlier this week. the stimulus is effective and things get back on track quickly, the recent losses would seem to be a short-term blip and the markets are happy to look beyond the daily virus news, said Henry Jennings, senior analyst at Marcustoday Financial Newsletter.
Aiding sentiment further were reports that new cases in China's Hubei province - the epicentre of the outbreak - dropped to 349 on Wednesday from 1,693 cases a day earlier, although it was accompanied by a change in methodology. The total number of cases in China so far has crossed 74,000, and has resulted in over 2,100 deaths. mining sub-index .AXMM rose up to 0.8%, marking its third straight session of gains, lifted by Fortescue Metals Group FMG.AX and Iluka Resources ILU.AX , which gained 1.4% and 12.2%, respectively.
Retail conglomerate Wesfarmers WES.AX extended gains, adding up to 1.7%, while Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) Amatil CCL.AX advanced as much as 4.7% on upbeat earnings. and New Zealand Banking Group ANZ.AX rose up to 0.5%, marking its third consecutive session of gains, after the lender posted its first quarterly growth in home loan volumes in domestic market since mid-2018. energy sub-index .AXEJ added 1.2%, with the country's largest electricity and gas retailer Origin Energy ORG.AX rising 5.1%, after its flagship APLNG project reported record output in the first half. Airways QAN.AX gained 8.4%, marking its best day since May 2018 as the carrier unveiled a share buyback of up to A$150 million ($100.17 million) and declared a higher interim dividend of 13.5 Australian cents per share. in New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 surpassed the 12,000 level for the first time and was trading 0.4% higher at 12,029.4.
Heavyweights Auckland International Airport AIA.NZ gained up to 2.5%, its best session in nearly two weeks, and NZ-listed shares of Australia and New Zealand Banking Group ANZ.NZ rose 0.8%.
($1 = 1.4975 Australian dollars)