dec 8 reuters  australian shares notched their best session in more than two months on wednesday as surging commodity prices propelled miners higher while easing fears surrounding the omicron coronavirus variant lifted banks and aided broader sentiment the spasx 200 index axjo closed 13 higher at 74054 recording their best session since oct 4 the benchmark settled 1 higher on tuesday miners axmm rose 24 to scale a 12week closing high benefiting from a jump in iron ore prices as easing monetary policy in leading consumer china boosted demand for ferrous materials global miner rio tinto rioax rose 22 to hit its highest since oct 21 while shares of fortescue metals group fmgax jumped 33 financials axfj climbed 09 with the big four banks rising between 03 and 1 shares in australia also took their cue from a global relief rally on views that the omicron variant will not cause major economic damage i think we are seeing a combination of some shortcovering and buying the dip in australia said brad smoling managing director of smoling stockbroking that said i still think volatility is going to be very high going into the end of the year he added domestic technology axij shares rose 22 tracking a strong overnight session on wall street while firmer oil prices helped energy stocks axej close at a twoweek high zip co ltd z1pax hit a twoweek high and was the top percentage gainer in the asx 200 a day after the buynowpaylater firm reported strong transaction volumes for november the reserve bank of australia on tuesday left its cash rate at a record low and stuck with its bondbuying plans but adjusted its policy statement to allow for a possible increase before 2023 read more new zealands benchmark spnzx 50 index nz50 closed 21 higher at 1286832 recording its best session since jan 5 consumer cyclicals and healthcare led gains on the bourse while sky network televisions sktnz stock surged 146 to be the top gainer in the index reporting by harish sridharan in bengaluru editing by sherry jacobphillips