Australian shares rose on Monday, underpinned by strong gains in mining stocks, which hit a more than three-week high after copper prices registered their largest weekly gain since late August.
The S&P/ASX 200 index (xjo) advanced 0.7 percent or 42.325 points to 5,753 points by 0105 GMT. The benchmark jumped more than 1 percent on Friday.
Gains were broad-based with all ten sectors in the black. Materials were the best performing sector with mining stocks .AXMM rising more than 1 percent to touch their highest since Sept. 14.
Benchmark copper CMCU3 on the London Metal Exchange ended down 0.5 percent at $6,667 a tonne after peaking at $6,724 on Friday, the highest since Sept. 12, helped by expectations of strong demand from top consumer China. [MET/L]
"Gains in materials are driven out of broadly positive data out of China last week. Markets have got a positive view on materials in the shorter term," said Adam Tout, a senior analyst at CPS Capital in Perth.
Mining giants BHP Billiton Ltd (BHP) and Rio Tinto Ltd (RIO) were both trading more than 1 percent firmer.
Markets showed little reaction to weak jobs data out of the U.S. and to the continuing tensions in the Korean peninsula after a report stated North Korea is preparing to test a long-range missile.
"The market is certainly defying the soft leads. There must be renewed buying interest," Tout added.
Mantra Group (MTR) was the top gainer on the benchmark, soaring as much as 18 percent to clock its best intra-day percentage gain ever after the Australian hotelier said it had received a proposal from French hotel group Accor SA
for a buyout price of A$1.18 billion ($917.69 million). In other stocks, Telstra Corp (TLS) jumped 1.5 percent while gold miner Newcrest Mining Ltd (NCM) was up 1.4 percent after prices of the yellow metal rebounded from a two-month low on Friday on concerns around North Korea.[GOL/]
At the other end, lithium miner Orocobre Ltd (ORE) slipped 2.5 percent while Healthscope Ltd (HSO) was down 1.1 percent.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index (nz50) rose as much as 0.5 percent to scale a record high of 8,013.97 points.
Negotiations to determine the country's next government continued over the weekend with the populist New Zealand First Party starting talks with both the Labour and National parties on Sunday.
Consumer staples, materials and telecom stocks drove the gains on the index.
A2 Milk Company Ltd (ATM) was among the top gainers, climbing as much as 3.2 percent to an all-time high.
($1 = 1.2858 Australian dollars)
