Oct 26 (Reuters) - Australian shares rose for a third straight session on Wednesday, buoyed by soft U.S. economic data fuelling hopes of less aggressive interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve, while investors awaited domestic consumer price inflation data.
The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.6% to 6,840.30 by 2157 GMT, with most sub-sectors trading in the positive territory. The benchmark ended 0.3% higher on Tuesday.
U.S. data overnight showed slowing home price growth and souring consumer confidence. Such signs of economic softness, ordinarily unsupportive of risk appetite, are evidence of abating Fed hawkishness.
Back home, consumer price index figures for the third quarter, due later in the day, will provide further cues on the Reserve Bank of Australia's stance on interest rate hikes.
Financials advanced 0.3% and were set to hit a more than four months high, with the 'Big Four' banks rising between 0.4% and 0.9%.
Miners led gains on the local bourse, climbing 1.2% even as iron ore prices slumped on Tuesday. Sector behemoths BHP Group, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals added between 0.4% and 0.6%.
Strong bullion prices lifted gold stocks 2.4%, with Northern Star Resources and Newcrest Mining climbing 2.9% and 2.6%, respectively. The sub-index was set to hit an over two-week high.
Technology stocks tracked their Wall Street peers up 0.5%. ASX-listed shares of Block and software maker Xero added 1.1% and 0.9%, respectively.
Medibank Private tumbled 14.7% and was on track to post a record drop, after the country's biggest health insurer warned of a A$25 million ($15.96 million) to A$35 million hit to first-half earnings from costs related to a data breach.
Coles Group dropped 1.8%, after the country's second-largest supermarket chain warned of cost pressures.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index rose 0.8% to 10,984.18.
($1 = 1.5669 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Upasana Singh; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
