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Jan 5 (Reuters) - Australian shares closed higher in thin trade on Thursday mirroring gains on Wall Street, pushed up by financials and basic materials stocks gaining on higher base metal prices.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO ended 0.3 percent, or 16.89 points higher, to 5753.3. Trading volumes were 0.7 times the 30-day average.
U.S. shares ended higher on Wednesday despite Federal Reserve's December meeting showing concerns that quicker economic growth under President-elect Donald Trump could require faster interest rate increases to ward off inflation. .N FED
The basic materials index .AXMJ gained 0.42 percent, its highest since Sept. 2, 2014, powered by an overnight surge in copper price on a brightening demand outlook for Chinese metals. MET/L
Copper miners Oz Minerals Ltd OZL.AX and Sandfire Resources NL SFR.AX gained 3.42 percent and 3.61 percent respectively.
Mining giant BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) Ltd BHP.AX rose 0.1 percent, tracking three consecutive session of gains, while peer Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) Ltd RIO.AX gained 0.2 percent.
The gold index .AXGD closed 2.5 percent higher on the back of rising gold prices, with Newcrest Mining Ltd NCM.AX gaining 1.8 percent. GOL/
The financial index .AXFJ gained 0.45 percent to end at its highest in over 17 months, with the "Big Four" banks leading the rally.
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd ANZ.AX followed suite by ending at its highest in 17 months up 0.4 percent, while National Australia Bank Ltd NAB.AX gained 0.9 percent.
Engineering and construction giant WorleyParsons Ltd WOR.AX rose 2.4 percent after announcing renewal of a general engineering services contract with Saudi Aramco. Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 ended flat as losses in industrials and consumer cyclicals were offset by gains in telecom services and utilities.
Auckland International Airport Ltd AIA.NZ ended 1.1 percent lower, while Spark New Zealand Ltd SPK.NZ gained 2.9 percent, its highest in nearly a month.