* Aussie benchmark up to 4th session
* South Australia goes into 6-day lockdown
* Financial sub-index extends gains to 4th day (Updates to close)
By Arundhati Dutta
Nov 19 (Reuters) - Australian shares closed higher on Thursday, recouping early losses due to gains in financial stocks, while New Zealand extended falls from the previous session as worries over surging global COVID-19 cases dampened sentiment.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO swung into positive territory in the last hour of trade after spending most of the session in the red, closing up 0.25% at 6,547.2 points.
U.S. stocks closed steeply lower after a late-session sell-off on Wednesday as investors weighed surging COVID-19 infections and mounting shutdowns against encouraging vaccine developments. to the risk-off mood, the state of South Australia went into strict lockdown on Thursday to stifle the latest cluster of 23 novel coronavirus infections. vaccine is further down the track compared to the current trend of soaring infections and restrictions hampering economic recovery, said James Tao, a market analyst at CommSec.
"The good news is kind of being pushed to one side at the moment," Tao said.
Financial stocks .AXFJ extended gains to a fourth day and hit their highest in more than eight months, with the "Big Four" banks climbing between 1.2% and 2.3%.
On the other side of the ledger, gold stocks .AXGD touched their lowest in nearly five months, as optimism over the new vaccine dented the appeal of the safe-haven commodity. Mining NCM.AX closed down 2.6% while ASX-listed shares of AngloGold Ashanti AGG.AX shed 4.2%.
Miners .AXMM shed 0.5% while energy stocks .AXEJ added 0.3%, helped by gains in Worley WOR.AX and Woodside Petroleum WPL.AX .
In New Zealand, the benchmark index .NZ50 closed 0.4% lower at 12,557.13 points. Tourism Holdings THL.NZ , down 3.7%, was the biggest percentage loser, followed by Serko Ltd SKO.NZ , slipping 2%.