SYDNEY/WELLINGTON, April 14 (Reuters) - Australian shares rose for a third straight session on Thursday as gains in key commodities such as iron ore and a strong finish on Wall Street helped calm recent jitters.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO rose 0.9 percent, or 45.45 points, to 5,100.1. That brought gains in the past three sessions to 3.4 percent and took the index to its highest since March 24.
Miners led the rally, helped by another hefty rise in iron ore prices. The steel-making mineral has climbed over $6 this week to reach $59.90 a tonne. BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) BHP.AX jumped 4.6 percent to ground last trod in late November, while Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) RIO.AX added 1.9 percent.
The biggest gainer on the day was Whitehaven Coal WHC.AX which surged over 11 percent after it reported coal sales rose 48 percent in the third quarter, from a year earlier.
Baby food group Bellamy's Australia BAL.AX climbed 6 percent after Chinese authorities said new rules on infant formula imports would not take effect until 2018, easing concerns that sales would be hit in the near term. Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 rose 0.21 percent or 13.91 points to a 6,791.82 on Thursday, inching up to another record level.
Health software company Orion Health Group OHE.NZ rose 2.33 percent. New Zealand subsidiaries of Australian banks also gained, with Westpac WBC.NZ rising 1.82 percent and ANZ ANZ.NZ up 1.05 percent.
Shares in Fonterra's FCG.NZ fund FSF.NZ , which provides investor exposure to the farmer-owned dairy exporter, rose 0.88 percent after the company announced its strike price for shares. Brands RBD.NZ , which operates Pizza Hut and Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) Coffee outlets in New Zealand, lost 0.98 percent as the company announced its full year results showing net profit after tax rose only one percent. more individual stocks activity click on STXBZ