(Corrects weekly milestone in first paragraph and headline to
best in four)
* Gold stocks rise most in over 4 months
* Macquarie Group beats 1H21 guidance
* NZ share rise most in nearly a month
Nov 6 (Reuters) - Australian shares rallied on Friday and
headed for their biggest weekly gain in four, as they tracked
global equities on increased expectations that a divided U.S.
Congress could hurt plans for higher corporate taxes.
Gold and mining stocks propelled the S&P/ASX 200 index
0.5% higher to 6,172.5 by 0008 GMT. For the week, it is
poised to gain about 4.2%.
Equity markets have gained this week despite uncertainty
around the U.S. presidential race, as investors hoped a mixed
Congress during a possible Joe Biden presidency would make big
policy changes hard to enact.
Biden was edging closer to victory after winning Michigan
and Wisconsin, but his Democratic Party appeared unlikely to win
the Senate. That eased investor worries about tighter
regulations on Big Tech and a corporate tax hike.
The gold index surged 4.5%, its biggest one-day rise
since June 22, as bullion prices rallied on a weaker dollar
following growing prospects of a Biden win.
Top gold producer Newcrest Mining Ltd added 3.6%
and Ocean Corp climbed 6.8%.
Underpinning positive sentiment in gold stocks, miners
rose 2.1%.
Financial stocks found support from investment bank
Macquarie Group Ltd's first-half profit, which was
ahead of its expectations. Its shares gained 3%.
A subindex of tech stocks followed its U.S. peers
higher, led by Wise Tech Global Ltd, up 3.8%.
The number of issues on the AS that advanced were 964 while
390 declined as a 2.5-to-1 ratio favoured advancers.
In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index
climbed by its most in nearly a month, rising 1.2% to 12,392.3.
Financials and utilities drove gains in the Wellington
bourse, with dairy products maker Synaptic Milk jumping
as much as 11% after settling a land dispute.
(Reporting by A K Pranav in Bengaluru; editing by Uttaresh.V)