SYDNEY/WELLINGTON, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Australian shares rose on Thursday, taking a lead from Wall Street and defying weaker-than-expected retail sales numbers, while New Zealand shares edged higher.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO rose 0.4 percent, or 22 points, to 5,487.2 by 0316 GMT. But the benchmark remained near two-week lows, after touching a one-year high above 5,600 earlier in the week.
"What we're seeing is natural profit taking at 5,600," said senior analyst Gary Burton at First Prudential (LON:PRU) Markets.
"It doesn't seem to be committed selling...we're also seeing a bit of hesitation in the market around reporting season as well."
June retail sales rose 0.1 percent, below the 0.4 percent forecast. and gas producer Santos Ltd STO.AX added 5.8 percent after a 3 percent surge in oil prices overnight. explorer and retailer Origin Energy Ltd ORG.AX rose 3 percent and Beach Energy Ltd BPT.AX rose 3.8 percent.
Miners, which comprise a fifth of the index, drove much of the overall rise, buoyed by iron ore hovering near 14-week highs.
Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) shares posted a 1.2 percent gain, after Deutche Bank raised its target price for the stock. company on Wednesday reported its lowest earnings figure in more than a decade, but still beat analysts' expectations. Billiton BHP.AX and its spin-off, South32 S32.AX each rose by more than 2.5 percent.
Shares in vitamin maker Vitaco Holdings Ltd VIT.AX surged 21 percent to six-month highs on news of the company's buyout by a China-led consortium. profit taking sent the healthcare sector lower for a second straight session.
Aged-care home operators Japara Healthcare Ltd JHC.AX and Regis Healthcare REG.AX both fell. Japara was off 2.7 percent and Regis down 1.8 percent. Fertility specialist Virtus Health was down 2.4 percent, and blood-products maker CSL Ltd CSL.AX fell 1.5 percent.
Shares in television broadcaster Seven West Media SWM.AX rose 6.6 percent, partly recovering from a 26.6 percent plunge since Tuesday.
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New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 rose 0.1 percent, or 10 points, to 7,287.51, tracking modest gains on Wall Street.
The biggest gainers included clothing retailer Kathmandu KMD.NZ , which jumped up 5.8 percent after saying annual profit was sharply higher on improved margins.
In the other direction, Sky Television SKT.NZ was down 1 percent. Brokers said trading was very light as investors wait for corporate earnings, due through August.