Australian stock market rises for four consecutive days, mining stocks surge.

The Australian S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.3% to 8,845.10, poised to rise for the fourth consecutive trading day. Mining stocks have become the best performing sector after metals continued their strong rally since the beginning of the year. The New Zealand S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.4% to 13,697.12 points.