News: XIJ Australian shares snap 5 days of declines as banks, miners jump

	  ASX 200 rebounds from 5-day losing streak 

	  Financials, miners lift benchmark index 

	  Policy rate decision by RBA, RBNZ in May  

	  AGL completes debt refinancing worth $1.06 bln 

(Updates to close)

Australian shares recovered from a five-day losing streak on Friday, led by a rally in financials and miners, although the benchmark saw a second weekly loss due to a decline in commodity stocks.

The S&P/ASX 200 index (xjo) rose 0.2% to 7,309.20 at the close of trade.

For the week, the index fell 0.3%, compared to a 0.4% decline in the previous week.

Strong corporate earnings in the United States improved sentiment despite lingering worries over economic weakness.

In Sydney, investors have an eventful week ahead, with rate decision by the country's central bank as well as a federal budget on the horizon.

"Generally, inflation seems to have peaked and we're very, very close to the peak in interest rates, so it wouldn't be surprising if the RBA decided to pause", Henry Jennings, senior analyst and portfolio manager said.

Banks .AXIJ rose 0.6%, snapping a four-day losing streak led by a 0.9% gain in ANZ Group Holdings Co (ANZ) and Westpac Banking Corp (WBC) . Three of Australia's "Big Four" banks are scheduled to report earnings in the next couple of weeks.

Miners .AXMM added 0.5%. Heavyweights Rio Tinto (RIO) inched up 0.1% while BHP Group (BHP) rose 0.3%.

Technology stocks .AXIJ added 0.5%, tracking an overnight rally in Wall Street.

Gold .AXGD and energy .AXEJ stocks bucked the trend, slipping 0.5% and 0.3% respectively.

AGL Energy Ltd (AGL) slid 1% after the company said it has completed partial refinancing of debt facilities worth A$1.6 billion ($1.06 billion) for repaying loans and fund existing and future renewable energy projects.

Megaport Ltd (MP1) climbed 41.46% as the network-as-a-service firm said it expected normalized EBITDA to be materially above market consensus of A$30 million in fiscal 2024.

Woodside Energy Group Ltd's (WDS) shareholders supported its management pay report and re-election of directors despite a strong push by activist groups and some smaller investors upset over its climate report to reject the plans.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index (nz50) rose 0.9% to close at 12,019.84.

The Reserve Bank of New Zealand is expected to hike interest rates by 25 basis points next month to 5.50%, according to a Reuters poll.