Australia shares rally, CBA reaches record high

(Adds analysis, quotes, stocks on the move)

By Cecile Lefort and Gyles Beckford

SYDNEY/WELLINGTON, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Australian shares rallied 0.6 percent early on Tuesday, in the first trading since last week's stellar gains, as investors brushed off initial fears that a leftist victory in Greece would bring turmoil in euro zone.

Markets in Australia were closed on Monday for a holiday.

At 0202 GMT on Tuesday, the S&P/ASX 200 index rose 30.28 points to 5,532.1. Major resistance was found at the November peak of 5,550.30 and a break would take it to the highest since September.

"There is a bit of relief about Greece... It looks to be largely a momentum play, we are back above 5,500 points," said Ben Le Brun, a market analyst at OptionsXpress.

"Investors are still happy to take new positions when the market is trading at these levels," he added.

The benchmark surged 4 percent last week, its biggest such gain in three years, after investors cheered a larger-than- expected economic stimulus package from the European Central Bank.

Financials were the big winners, buoyed by shares in Commonwealth Bank of Australia (Other OTC: CBAUF - news) , which reached a record high of A$87.43.

Technology and healthcare stocks rose around 2.0 percent while telecommunication and consumer shares chalked up smaller gains.

Resource stocks fell. Iron ore mining firm Fortescue was down around 6 percent to six-year lows. BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto (Xetra: 855018 - news) slid between 0.9 and 1.7 percent on plunging iron ore prices.

Energy shares were also in the red, though Liquefied Natural Gas Ltd (LNG) scored a two-month peak following a business update.

New Zealand shares pushed on to a record high with buying of top stocks helping send the benchmark NZX-50 index up 0.4 percent to 5,720.72.

The market's number two stock telecommunications company Spark led the gains, up 1.3 percent to NZ$3.39, a level last seen in December 2007, after it said a senior executive is leaving.

Other leaders underpinning the gains were Contact Energy (NZSE: CEN.NZ - news) , up 0.6 percent to a near six-year high of NZ$6.80, along with casino operator Sky City, Auckland Airport and online auction company Trade Me (NZSE: TME.NZ - news) .

Among the decliners were retailers Kathmandu, down 2.9 percent to N$1.99 and the Warehouse down 1.1 percent to NZ$2.76. Both posted solid gains over the previous week. (Editing by Richard Borsuk)