Australian shares tracked Wall Street gains overnight to end higher on Thursday, with financial and real estate stocks leading the rise, while top power producer AGL Energy soared after reporting a bumper half-year profit.

The S&P/ASX 200 index closed 0.3% higher at 7,639.2 points. The benchmark climbed 0.5% on Wednesday.

Major indexes on Wall Street rose on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 touching a record closing high.

"Financials and real estate stocks are posting gains on hopes that we are already at the peak of the current rate hiking cycle, despite the cautious tone of the RBA (Reserve Bank of Autralia) this week," said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade.

The RBA had kept interest rates unchanged earlier this week, but warned that it may have to hike again if domestic inflation proves to be stubbornly high.

Financial stocks boosted the benchmark, closing 0.9% higher, after hitting their highest level since April 2015 earlier in the session.

The "Big Four" banks gained between 0.6% and 1.2%.

Real estate stocks advanced 0.7%. They soared nearly 1.8% earlier in the session to their highest level since May 2022.

Property investment firm Mirvac Group gained 4.7% after posting higher-than-expected half-year operating profit and reaffirming its full-year forecast.

Meanwhile, KCM Trade's Waterer suggested that AGL Energy's half-year profit also aided sentiment and risk appetite across the broader index.

AGL closed 10.3% higher to record its best session in nearly two years. The power producer also upgraded its annual profit forecast on the back of higher prices.

Tech stocks advanced 1.2%, tracking gains in their U.S. peers.

The mining index dropped marginally, while behemoth Rio Tinto ended 0.3% lower.

Energy and gold stocks lost 0.5% and 0.3%, respectively.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.7% to 11,872.33 points.

 

(Reporting by Sneha Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema)