Australian shares rose on Tuesday after a solid performance on...

Australian shares rose on Tuesday after a solid performance on Wall Street, with financials and healthcare sectors underpinning the market.

The S&P/ASX 200 index (xjo) rose 0.76 percent or 40.9 points, to 5408.486 by 0013 GMT, snapping two days of losses.

An overnight rally in Wall Street thanks to strong corprorate earnings and a flurry of acquisitions boosted risk appetite globally. [MKTS/GLOB] [.N]

Investors also shrugged off concerns surrounding a potential interest rate hike in the United States despite the latest comment from a Federal Reserve official that the U.S. central bank will raise its policy rate three more times by the end of next year.

“We're seeing a reasonably solid lead from offshore overnight after the American market rose," said James McGlew, executive director of corporate stockbroking at Argonaut. "There is quite a strong bounce back in healthcare stocks that were being knocked around last week." he added.

Shares of Healthscope Ltd (HSO) rebounded from previous session's losses, rising as much as 4 percent for its biggest percentage gain in two months.

The 'big four' banks moved into the positive ledger with Westpac Banking Corp (WBC) gaining for a third straight session to hit a two-month high, while National Australia Bank Ltd (NAB) rose as much as 1 percent to post its biggest percentage rise in three weeks.

Big cap miners Rio Tinto Ltd(RIO) and Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (FMG) rose 0.8 percent and 1.9 percent respectively.

Aconex Ltd,(ACX), the top performer on the benchmark index, rose 9.7 percent after announcing upbeat guidance for 2017.

On the downside, the gold index .AXGD fell 1.6 percent after prices of the yellow metal slipped on Monday on a strong U.S. dollar. Energy stocks remained under pressure on weaker crude prices with the energy index .AXEJ falling for a third straight session. [GOL/]

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index (nz50) rose 0.43 percent, led by gains in consumer cyclical stocks. Shares of Fletcher Building Ltd (FBU) was up more than 2 percent, its biggest percentage rise in about two weeks.

Shares of Air New Zealand Ltd (AIR), one of the best performers on the index, was up more than 2 percent, while Auckland International Airport (AIA) rallied for a fourth staright session after reporting strong September traffic data.[nNZWgz6sB]