By Shashwat Pradhan
Aug 17 (Reuters) - Australian stocks inched up on Thursday, although a plunge by Telstra after it slashed dividends offset most of the gains by materials shares.
At 0253 GMT, the S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO was up 0.15 percent or 8.5 points to 5,793.6 by 0253 GMT.
Thursday's advance was underpinned by material stocks, with global miners BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) BHP.AX and Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) RIO.AX rising 1.1 percent and 1.7 percent respectively after copper and aluminium prices hit their highest since 2014 on a wave of speculative buying. MET/L
Another gainer was Treasury Wine Estates TWE.AX whose shares jumped as much as 7 percent to a seven-week high after it reported a surge in annual profit. a busy day of earnings, Wesfarmers WES.AX posted a record annual profit boosted by its coal and home improvement units, sending the shares of the retail-to-mining conglomerate up as much 3.2 percent to a near three-month high. other blue chips, CSL Ltd CSL.AX was up 2.1 percent while Qantas Airways Ltd QAN.AX gained 1 percent.
Telstra TLS.AX was the biggest drag on the index, plummeting as much as 12 percent to a near five-year low after saying it would trim dividends by 30 percent this financial year, the first cut since Australia's biggest telecoms firm got listed in 1997. are responding to Telstra's capital management, its low dividend and the reduction in its dividend guidance. They were surprised by it cutting the dividend," said Adam Tout, a senior analyst at CPS Capital in Perth. "They were surprised by it cutting the dividend."
Telstra said it is facing headwinds from a new state-owned National Broadband Network, which will replace the telecom giant's copper lines by about 2020.
QBE Insurance Group QBE.AX fell as much as 6.7 percent to its lowest since November. Australia's biggest insurer said its overall payout ratio worsened due to a claims blowout in its emerging markets unit. issues outnumbered declining ones by a 1.3-to-1 ratio.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 , reaching a record, rose 0.2 percent, or 15.12 points, to 7,868.46.
Healthcare stocks accounted for more than one-fourth of the gains, with Fisher & Paykel Healthcare FPH.NZ and Metlifecare MET.NZ advancing 1.6 percent and 1 percent respectively.
Sentiment in the broader market was lifted by a survey showing consumer confidence in New Zealand rebounded in August as low unemployment, recovering dairy prices and a high New Zealand dollar made imports cheaper and boosted household optimism. more individual stocks activity click on STXBZ