ASX200 climbs on mining, energy rally
BHP, Rio Tinto hit multi-month highs
Woodside shares hit a 1-month peak
NZ50 loses for second straight session
Updates to market close
By Nikita Maria Jino
July 23 (Reuters) - Australian shares ended higher on Wednesday, led by a rally in mining and energy stocks, with top oil and gas producer Woodside Energy scaling a one-month peak following a stronger-than-expected quarterly performance.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO rose 0.7% to finish the day at 8,737.20 points, a touch shy of its all-time high of 8,757.20 points.
The mining sub-index .AXMM gained 1%, hitting a nine-month high and extending its rally into a fourth straight session. The sector has risen nearly 7% over these sessions, as investors seek its relatively undervalued stocks.
BHP BHP.AX gained 0.8% on Wednesday to scale a seven-month peak, Rio Tinto RIO.AX advanced 1.2% to a two-month high, while Fortescue FMG.AX rose for the sixth straight day to touch a four-month high.
China is a huge consumer of most commodities, and it has recently announced the construction of what would be the world's largest hydropower dam, boosting the demand for steel, said Jon Mills, an equity analyst at Morningstar.
Energy stocks .AXEJ extended their rally into a fifth consecutive session, led by Woodside Energy WDS.AX advancing 1.6% to its highest level since late June, after a better-than-expected rise in second-quarter sales revenue.
"Investors are rewarding Woodside because it is demonstrating that it can grow volumes, cut costs and de-risk capital outlays via the Stonepeak deal on Louisiana LNG," said Adrian Prendergast, deputy head of research at Morgans Financial.
The financials sub-index .AXFJ reversed early losses to rise 0.8%, with top lender Commonwealth Bank of Australia CBA.AX rising 0.5%, though still close to its late-May lows.
Interest rate-sensitive real estate .AXRE and consumer discretionary .AXDJ stocks rose 0.5% each.
Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 extended losses from its previous session to finish the day 0.3% lower at 12,794.06 points.
(Reporting by Nikita Maria Jino in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore)
((Nikita.Jino@thomsonreuters.com;))
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