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SYDNEY, Oct 9 (Reuters) - Australian shares rose 1.3 percent on Friday as investors bought across the board after minutes from the Federal Reserve's last meeting harderned the view that interest rates in the United States won't rise this year. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N1281CW
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO jumped 69.3 points to 5,279.7 at the close of trade, the highest level since Aug. 28. The benchmark rose 0.2 percent to 5,112.1 in the previous session.
It ended 4.5 percent higher for the week, its best weekly performance since Dec 2011.
New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index .NZ50 rose 0.23 percent or 13.01 points to finish the session at 5,638.79.