News: XEJ Australia shares up at near 2-wk high led by materials; NZ down

Australian shares inched to a near two-week high on Tuesday, supported by materials stocks on the back of higher commodity prices, while financials extended gains into their fifth consecutive session.

The S&P/ASX 200 index (xjo) tacked on 0.15 percent to 6,007.3 by 0033 GMT. The benchmark added 0.1 percent on Monday.

Chinese steel futures rebounded after a three-day drop as output cuts in the world's top producer deepened, while copper prices rose on a weaker dollar and prospects of higher demand. [IRONORE/] [MET/L]

Global miners BHP Billiton (BHP) and Rio Tinto (RIO) benefited, rising 1.7 percent and 1.6 percent, respectively, and making the biggest contributions to the metals and mining index .AXMM.

The financial sector was also up in early trade. Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) rose 0.8 percent to a near two-week high after it agreed to sell its OnePath Life insurance businesses to Zurich Insurance for $2.14 billion.

"You've got buying into the banks and commodities... They're the two main sectors and if they're up, our markets are up," said Mathan Somasundaram, market portfolio strategist at Blue Ocean Equities.

Energy stocks followed oil prices higher, with the energy index .AXEJ touching a one-week high. Oil prices rose on Monday after a North Sea pipeline shut for repairs. [O/R]

Oil and gas explorer Woodside Petroleum (WPL) rose about 1.0 percent to a near one-month high.

Moving in the opposite direction, consumer staples were the biggest losers on the index, with retailers Woolworths Group (WOW) and Wesfarmers (WES) both dropping about 0.6 percent each.

Somasundaram said that consumer stocks, particularly retailers, are facing pressure from foreign competitors such as Amazon.

Across the Tasman, the New Zealand market was slightly weaker, with healthcare stocks the biggest drag on the benchmark index.

The benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index (nz50) fell 0.2 percent or 13.93 points to 8,263.4.

Ryman Healthcare (RYM) was among the biggest losers, down 0.5 percent.