* U.S-based Moderna 's experimental COVID-19 vaccine show positive results
* Afterpay rebounds after three sessions of losses
* NZ higher (Updates to close)
By Nikhil Subba
July 15 (Reuters) - Australian shares closed higher on Wednesday, mirroring overnight gains on Wall Street, with material stocks providing a major lift to the domestic benchmark, while promising developments in a potential COVID-19 vaccine added to the cheer.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO rose 1.88% to 6,052.9 points, in its best day since June 30, despite tightened restrictions on movement to contain a fresh outbreak of COVID-19 that has pushed the national case tally over 10,000. benchmark closed 0.6% lower on Tuesday.
The Australian market took cue from strong overnight gains on the major Wall Street indices, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI ended more than 2% higher and the S&P 500 .SPX gained over a percent.
U.S. stocks rallied after Federal Reserve Board Governor Lael Brainard hinted at an additional monetary stimulus, analysts at OCBC Bank said in a note.
Meanwhile, U.S. researchers on Tuesday reported that Moderna Inc's MRNA.O experimental vaccine for COVID-19 provoked immune responses in all 45 healthy volunteers in an ongoing early-stage study. sooner a vaccine or treatment is available, the easier it is for the economic recovery to take place," said CommSec market analyst James Tao.
ASX 300 metals and mining index .AXMM rose 2.7% led by Champion Iron Ltd CIA.AX , up 10.29%, followed by Aurelia Metals Ltd AMI.AX , gaining 7.55%
Basic material stocks chased overnight gains in their U.S. counterparts, which were also a major boost to the U.S. indices in the last session.
Technology stocks .AXIJ rose 2.77% led by WiseTech Global Ltd WTC.AX , up 4.58%, followed by EML Payments Ltd EML.AX , gaining 4.5%.
Buy-now-pay-later firm Afterpay Ltd APT.AX jumped 5% before closing 2% higher, recouping after three sessions of losses for the first time in a month. New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 rose 1% to 11,610.52.
Top gainers on the .NZ50 are Vista Group International Ltd VGL.NZ , up 4.17%, followed by Oceania Healthcare Ltd OCA.NZ , gaining 3.09%.