News: NAB Resources and steel power Australia, NZ shares higher

Australian and New Zealand shares climbed on Tuesday stoked by steel, mining and energy stocks, with commodities benefitting from better risk appetite as oil prices hit six-month highs due to supply worries.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index (nz50) rose nearly 1 percent, or 66.82 points to an all-time high of 6,980.95, as investors hunted for yield in the share market with bank interest rates at record lows.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index (xjo) rose 28.65 points, or 0.5 percent, to 5,387.10 by 0256 GMT, adding to a 0.6 percent gain on Monday.

Steel companies were the top gainers in both Australia and New Zealand, with Bluescope Steel (BSL) up nearly 10 percent and Steel & Tube Holdings (STU) up more than 4 percent, recovering from a slump over the past month, helped by signs of a pick-up in property investment and construction in China.

"There is a view that whilst the steel market is still very tough, there are some signs of green shoots," said James McGlew, executive director at broker Argonaut in Perth.

Producers of the key steel-making ingredient iron ore jumped, too, with Fortescue Metals (FMG) surging 5.2 percent.

"There's been a palpable change in mood towards iron ore stocks in general," McGlew said.

Top miner BHP Billiton (BHP), which is also an oil producer, jumped 3 percent. Oil and gas producers Woodside Petroleum (WPL) rose 2.3 percent, while Santos (STO) jumped 5 percent.

The big banks all climbed, except for National Australia Bank (NAB), which fell 3.2 percent as it traded without rights to its dividend.

For more individual stock activity click on [STXBZ] In New Zealand, high yielding electricity stocks performed well with Contact Energy (CEN) rising 1.7 percent and Meridian Energy (MEL) up 3.31 percent.

"As more funds come out of the banks into the market, brokers and analysts are directing them to those stocks in particular," said Grant Williamson, investment adviser at Hamilton Hindin Greene.