March 27 (Reuters) - Australian shares rose on Monday, led by banking and real estate stocks, as speeches from the U.S. Federal Reserve officials assuaged investor fears over a potential liquidity crisis in the financial services sector.
The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.3% to 6,977.3 points by 0009 GMT. The benchmark lost 0.6% last week.
On Wall Street, major indexes ended the session higher after U.S. Fed officials said there was no indication that financial stress was worsening.
In Australia, financials rose 0.5%, with the "Big Four" banks adding between 0.1% and 0.7%.
Bank Of Queensland jumped 1.6% as the lender announced a board reshuffle, appointing former executive chairman Patrick Allaway as its chief executive officer.
Ampol was among the top losers in the benchmark index after it flagged a hit to gasoline production at its refinery in Queensland. Shares were down 2.1%.
Local digital payments firm Latitude Group Holdings fell 1.7% after announcing that 7.9 million Australian and New Zealand driver license numbers were stolen as a part of a malicious cyber attack on March 16.
Shares of technology and real estate companies gained 0.6% and 1.5%, respectively.
Gold stocks added 0.4% to the index, with shares of Northern Star and Newcrest Mining rising 0.4% and 1.4%, respectively.
Energy companies were the only major laggards on the ASX200, as oil prices settled lower on poor demand prospects.
Sector majors Woodside and Santos fell 0.4% and 1.7%, respectively.
Shares of Endeavour Group, a pub operator that operates poker machines, jump 2.6% on the back of the Labor Party's victory in NSW state election on Saturday, a political result which would mean less or no risk of gambling reforms in the state.
Local miners started the day in green as a rebound in underlying iron-ore prices on Friday lifted the sub-index. Mining giants BHP Group and Fortescue Metals added between 0.1% and 0.6%.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index rose 0.3% to 11,616.4 points.
(Reporting by Rishav Chatterjee in Bengaluru)
