* ASX200 just over 300 points short of record pre-pandemic peak
* Consumer spending, housing strength drive jobless rate down to 6.6%
* Tech stocks end at record high on U.S. cues, buy-now-pay-later boost (Updates to close)
By Arpit Nayak
Jan 21 (Reuters) - Australian shares finished at their highest in 11 months on Thursday as strong employment data instilled confidence that the country's economy was firmly on the path to recovery, while broader risk-on cues boosted investor appetite.
The country's unemployment rate fell to 6.6% in December on consumer spending and housing strength, which have so far helped recover most of the job losses suffered during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020. employment data certainly shows positives in terms of our economy," said James Tao, analyst at CommSec.
"There are expectations of a pretty big bounce back in economic growth as well in 2021, and all of that leads to plenty of optimism in the market."
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO rose 0.8% to 6,823.7 at the close of trade, its highest since February last year, settling just over 300 points short of record pre-pandemic highs.
Brokerage Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) hiked its price target for the benchmark to 7,100 from 6,700, citing earnings strength for miners and taking an overweight position on banks. stocks .AXIJ rose 2.7% to be the biggest percentage gainers on the benchmark and end at a record high, tracking a strong showing in Wall Street peers overnight after a smooth swearing in for Joe Biden as U.S. President. .N
Buy-now-pay-later stocks Afterpay APT.AX and Zip Co Z1P.AX climbed 5.7% and 23.1% to lead gains on the sub-index.
Miners .AXMM , financials .AXFJ and gold stocks .AXGD all ended over 1% higher, riding on stronger commodity prices and broader optimism.
Industry giant Woodside Petroleum's WPL.AX lacklustre 2021 output forecast drove its shares 1.6% lower and weighed on energy stocks .AXEJ despite an uptick in oil prices. O/R
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 rose 0.7% to finish the session at 13,112.19.
Meridian Energy MEL.NZ jumped 4.4%, while local shares of Westpac Banking Corp WBC.NZ gained 0.7%.