Australia shares close up as Westpac buoys banks

* S&P/ASX 200 ends at 4,540.1, reversing previous day's loss

* Westpac Bank up 1.4 percent

* Gold miners lead gains (Adds fund manager comments)

WELLINGTON/MELBOURNE, Nov 4 - Australian shares ended up 0.2 percent on Wednesday, helped by banks after Westpac Banking Corp <WBC.AX> said the bad debt cycle had peaked, while gold miners led gains after gold scaled a new record high.

Westpac, the last of the big banks to report its full year results, was the best performer among the banks, climbing 1.4 percent to A$24.79 after it narrowly beat analysts' forecasts. [ID:nSYD253066]

Analysts said however that banks may not give the market the same impetus in coming sessions since the sector as now seen as fairly priced following a sharp run-up since March.

"I don't know that the banking sector has a lot of upside left in it," said Mark Nathan, a portfolio manager at Fortis Investment Partners.

National Australia Bank <NAB.AX> fell 0.9 percent to A$28.15, while Australia & New Zealand Banking Group <ANZ.AX> rose 0.7 percent to A$22.73 and Commonwealth Bank of Australia <CBA.AX> rose 0.2 percent to A$51.37.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index <.AXJO> picked up 8.6 points to close at 4,540.1, reversing Tuesday's small loss.

New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index <.NZ50> also rose 0.2 percent to close at 3,166.7.

Among gold miners, Kingsgate Consolidated <KCN.AX> notched up the biggest gain, rising 10.4 percent to A$8.39, followed by St Barbara <SBM.AX>, which rose 7.8 percent to A$0.345.

Top miner BHP Billiton <BHP.AX> rose 0.5 percent to A$36.94 while Rio Tinto <RIO.AX> rose 1 percent to A$63.43.