Australian shares rose to their highest in over a week on Friday thanks to gains in the major miners, but a mixed performance in the banking sector capped the overall market.

The S&P/ASX 200 index climbed 0.4 per cent or 21.8 points to 5,718.3 by 0210 GMT. The benchmark index was up 1.5 per cent so far this week, turning around from two weeks of declines.

Market sentiment improved after Wall Street ended at a record high on Thursday.

“Everyone is a bit more positive, it’s good to see an up day given we’ve had such a volatile couple of weeks,’’ said Lucinda Chan, division director at Macquarie Equities.

“Commodities are driving the market up and you're seeing some discretionary stocks doing particularly well.’’

Retailers such as Harvey Norman have been among the best performers this week after the federal budget, unveiled on Tuesday, contained a surprise tax break to help small businesses spend more on office supplies.

Mining giants BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto climbed 1.1 per cent and 0.6 per cent respectively.

Among the big four banks, National Australia Bank fell 3.3 per cent as the stock traded ex-dividend, while Westpac Bank slipped 0.5 per cent. The other two were firmer.

Also faring well, New Zealand’s benchmark NZX 50 index rose 0.4 per cent or 20.2 points to 5,758.6, supported by construction and retail shares.

Nuplex climbed 2.8 per cent to a fresh four-year high of NZ$3.69 after the polymer and resins maker continued to buy back some of its shares. The company also upgraded its earnings guidance earlier in the week.

Xero jumped 3.0 per cent, cheered after the cloud-based accounting software developer topped a Forbes magazine list of most innovative growth companies, while outdoorwear maker Kathmandu rose 2.1 per cent.

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