News: WBC Banks and miners lift Australian shares higher, corporate earnings upbeat

	  ASX 200 notches two-week high  

	  Banks at near nine-year high 

	  Westpac logs best day in nearly a year 

	  Financials, miners lead gains  

Australian shares closed higher for a third straight session on Monday, led by gains in financials and mining stocks, while a handful of upbeat earnings also helped boost investor sentiment.

The S&P/ASX 200 benchmark index (xjo) ended up 0.1% at 7,665.1 points, its highest in two weeks.

Heavyweight financials .AXFJ rose 0.7% to a near nine-year high, with the "big four" banks rising between 0.3% and 2.7%.

Westpac Banking Corp (WBC) , the country's second-largest mortgage provider, rose 2.7%, its highest since October 2021, after the company said it sees scope for domestic monetary policy to become less restrictive within the next year along with its quarterly results.

Miners .AXMM followed suit to add 0.6% on the back of strong commodity prices that rose on expectations of strong demand from top consumer China.

Heavyweights BHP Group (BHP) and Rio Tinto (RIO) gained 0.9% and 1.6%, respectively.

In the United States, the market pushed back on Federal Reserve rate cut bets after the country's January inflation data came in stronger than expected.

The data is "an unwelcome surprise" where persistent increase in services firms' prices would have policy implications, according to analysts at ANZ.

Back in Australia, market participants keenly await the Reserve Bank of Australia's February meeting minutes and the wage price index, both due on Tuesday, after the central bank signalled it was open to hiking rates further to reign inflation.

The energy index .AXEJ lost 0.6% and gold stocks .AXGD shed 0.3% on the day.

Fuel retailer Ampol (ALD) , however, closed at an eight-year high after it announced higher annual profit and an upgrade at its Lytton refinery.

Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index (nz50) fell 0.6% to 11,653.27 points.

Among individual stocks, a2 Milk (ATM) jumped 13.7%, the most in six years after it forecast a higher full-year revenue while reporting a double-digit jump in first-half profit.