By Sneha Kumar

June 5 (Reuters) -Australian shares ended higher on Wednesday, boosted by gains in financial, healthcare and real estate stocks, whilethe country's slow economic growth pace in the first quarter mitigated fears of any further interest rate hikes from the central bank.

The S&P/ASX 200 benchmark index .AXJO closed 0.4% higher at 7,7769.0 points. The benchmark ended 0.3% lower on Tuesday.

Data from Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that thereal gross domestic product (GDP) rose 0.1% in the Marchquarter, just under market forecasts of 0.2%, as high borrowing costs and elevated inflation curbed consumer spending.

"Today's GDP figure is a warning call that Australian economy remains in the shadow of a looming recession, the risk of which is clearly overlooked at the moment," said Hebe Chen, a market analyst at IG.

"Aneconomy on edge should push back the odds for a rate rise in the near term, but unlikely to bring the rate cut forward for the rest of this year."

Futures imply around a 50-50 probability of a rate action in December and are not fully priced for a cut to 4.10% until May next year. 0#RBAWATCH

On the day,financial stocks .AXFJ advanced for the fourth consecutive session, rising 0.6% to a more thantwo-month high. Top lender Commonwealth Bank of Australia CBA.AX climbed 0.7%, hitting anall-time high.

Thehealthcare sub-index .AXHJ added 1.7%, logging its best session in over six weeks, while real estate stocks .AXRE gained 1.5% to log theirbest session since late-May.

Meanwhile, heavyweight miners .AXMM declined 1.3% to a one-month low as iron ore futures declined for the fifth straight session on softening steel demand from China. IRONORE/

BHP Group BHP.AX, Rio Tinto RIO.AX and Fortescue FMG.AX fell between 0.8% and 1.5%, respectively.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 closed up 1% to a nearly two-month high of 11,996.71 points.

Data showed that New Zealand's terms of trade, a measure of the purchasing power of the country's exports abroad, rose 5.1% in the first quarter, which could offer some relief to the struggling economy.

Reporting by Sneha Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema

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