Australia shares hold near nine-month peak, NZ hits record high

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian shares held near nine-month highs on Monday, as a rebound in oil prices offset weakness in the mining sector, while New Zealand stocks scaled a record high, putting both indices on track for a 3 percent monthly gain. The S&P/ASX 200 index nudged up 2.1 points, or 0.04 percent, to 5,408.0 at the close of trade. After one of the worst starts to a calendar year in decades, the benchmark is now up 2 percent so far in 2016. New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index gained 27.1 points, or 0.4 percent, surpassing 7,000 for the first time to finish the session at 7,019.6. (Reporting by Byron Kaye; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)