June 3 (Reuters) - Australian shares rose on Wednesday, boosted by energy and financial stocks, as prospects of a swift global economic recovery from the coronavirus-induced collapse in world growth widened investor appetite for riskier assets.
Fresh government stimulus globally also helped overshadow a host of other worries from the coronavirus to Hong Kong and growing U.S. civil unrest.
Australia is working on plans for a gas-driven recovery from COVID-19 that will help the country adapt to a low-carbon future, with the conservative government tiptoeing away from its vocal support for coal. S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO rose 1.01% to 5,893.8 points by 0104 GMT. The benchmark ended 0.3% firmer on Tuesday.
The top percentage gainers on the benchmark index were Skycity Entertainment Group Ltd SKC.AX , up 9.21%, followed by Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield SE URW.AX , gaining 8.56%.
Firmer oil prices propelled a 2.35% gain among energy stocks, with Whitehaven Coal Ltd WHC.AX climbing 5.49% and Worley Ltd WOR.AX jumping 4.67%.
Brent crude LCOc1 futures rose 1.72% to $40.25 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 gained 2.39% to $37.69 per barrel. O/R
Financial stocks .AXFJ rose 1.83% with the "Big Four" banks climbing between 1% and 2.7%.
Miners .AXMM also traded in the black with a 0.5% gain, led by Syrah Resources Ltd SYR.AX and South32 Ltd S32.AX climbing 8.62% and 5.94%, respectively.
Gains were capped by a 4.2% decline in gold stocks with shares of Tribune Resources Ltd TBR.AX , down 11.27%, followed by Perseus Mining Ltd PRU.AX losing 10.07%.
About 812 issues on the ASX advanced, while 482 declined as a 1.7-to-1 ratio favored advancers.
In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 rose 0.83% to 11,125.3.
The top percentage gainers on the benchmark were Vista Group International Ltd VGL.NZ , up 14.63%, followed by Tourism Holdings Ltd THL.NZ gaining 9.14%.