Banks push Australian shares higher, corporate earnings in focus
Aug 12 (Reuters) -Australian shares rose for a second straight session on Monday, helped by gains in heavyweight banks, as traders focused on full-year earnings reports from blue-chip firms including Commonwealth Bank of Australia and CSL due later in the week.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO rose 0.7% to 7,834.4 by 0022 GMT. The benchmark rose 1.3% on Friday.
Banks .AXFJ, which constitute more than a quarter of the benchmark index, rose 1% in early trade and were set for a third consecutive session of gains.
Top lender Commonwealth Bank of Australia CBA.AX will announce its full-year results on Wednesday. The Big Four banks advanced between 0.7% and 1.4%.
Biotechnology giant CSL CSL.AX climbed 0.8% in its fifth straight session of gains, helping the healthcare index .AXHJ trade 0.9% higher. CSL will announce its full-year results on Tuesday.
Tech stocks .AXIJ jumped 1.5%, while miners .AXMM and energy stocks .AXEJ were largely flat.
Brent crude LCOc1 futures fell 0.21% to $79.49 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 lost 0.1% to $76.76 per barrel.
The Aussie dollar was 0.04% weaker against the U.S. dollar at A$0.66.
Gold stocks .AXGD rose 1%, with Northern Star Resources NST.AX and Evolution Mining EVN.AX up 1% and 0.8% respectively.
The U.S. Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 0.13% on Friday, while the S&P 500 .SPX gained 0.47% and the Nasdaq .IXIC advanced 0.51%.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 rose 0.1%, or 14.98 points, to 12,258.44 on Monday, ahead of a central bank policy meeting later in the week.
The Reserve Bank of New Zealand will keep its key cash rate unchanged at 5.50% on Wednesday, a Reuters poll showed, although concerns remain about the economy's strength.
Reporting by Sneha Kumar and Sameer Manekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu
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