(Updates to close) Nov 10 (Reuters) - Australian shares rose...

(Updates to close)

Nov 10 (Reuters) - Australian shares rose over 3 percent on Thursday in their best gain in five years, as investors absorbed Republican Donald Trump's shock win in the U.S. presidential election.

The S&P/ASX 200 index (xjo) closed 3.3 percent, or 172.244 points, higher at 5,328.8, after declining 1.9 percent in the previous session.

Australian market tracked gains in U.S. stocks. The Dow <.DJI> jumped 1.4 percent and the S&P 500 <.SPX> and the Nasdaq .IXIC both added 1.11 percent on Wednesday.

The Wall Street rebound was based on investor belief that the Republican President-elect's policies are better for economic growth in the short-term than Clinton's would have been, said Jeffrey Gundlach, chief executive of DoubleLine Capital.

All major sectors except gold .AXGD gained, while the number of issues advanced were twice the decliners on the overall Australian stock exchange. <.AD.AX>

The "Big 4" banks, alongside mining giants BHP Billiton (BHP) and Rio Tinto (RIO), were the top performers on the benchmark index.

Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) surged as much as 12.5 percent to its highest in nearly three years, with 38.7 million shares changing hands, nearly thrice the 30-day average.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index (nz50) ended 1 percent, or 69.51 points, higher at 6,733.72 in heavy trading.

New Zealand's central bank lowered interest rates to a record low of 1.75 percent and it said international factors, including U.S. political uncertainty, were the major risks to the country's economy.

Financial stocks drove the gains, with Westpac Banking Corp (WBC) and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) both adding more than 5 percent.