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June 29 (Reuters) - Australian shares rose to their highest closing level in two weeks with banks and miners pushing the index higher, mirroring solid gains on Wall Street.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO climbed 1.1 percent or 62.40 points to 5,818.1.
The overnight rally in Wall Street was helped by financial stocks which rose after the Federal Reserve ratified plans from U.S. banks to use extra capital for stock buybacks and dividends. accounted for nearly half the gains on the Australian benchmark with the "Big-Four" banks ending between 1.6 percent and 2.4 percent higher.
BT Investment Management Ltd BTT.AX closed 2.4 percent higher while Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Ltd BEN.AX advanced 1.4 percent.
Higher commodity prices helped the materials index .AXMM end up 2.4 percent, posting a sixth straight session of gains.
Oil futures climbed more than 1 percent on Wednesday to their highest in more than a week while China's iron ore rallied more than 3 percent. O/R IRONORE/
BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) Ltd BHP.AX and Fortescue Metals Group FMG.AX jumped over 2.5 percent each.
Gold prices also rose overnight for a second session on a weak dollar following a global cyber-attack and a delay in U.S. healthcare legislation. GOL/
Dacian Gold Ltd DCN.AX ended 1.5 percent higher while Northern Star Resources NST.AX was up 2.5 percent.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 rose 0.8 percent, or 60.96 points, to a record closing high of 7,685.45. The benchmark posted its biggest rise in more than a month.
Healthcare led the gains with Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corp Ltd FPH.NZ closing at an all-time high, after having risen as much as 2.4 percent intraday.
Restaurant Brands New Zealand Ltd RBD.NZ closed 3 percent higher and was the top gainer on the index while Metro Performance Glass Ltd MPG.NZ was the worst performer, ending 0.7 percent lower.