May 18 (Reuters) - Australian shares rose on Thursday, lifted by mining and financial stocks, while optimism over ongoing U.S. debt ceiling negotiations aided sentiment.

The S&P/ASX 200 index advanced 0.6% to 7,242.1 by 0054 GMT.

The U.S. debt ceiling negotiations, which have become a growing preoccupation of market participants, appeared to be moving in the right direction, with vows from U.S. President Joe Biden and Republican House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy that the U.S. will avoid a catastrophic default.

In Sydney, investors are awaiting unemployment rate data for April, due later in the day, to gauge the direction of the central bank's rate hike path.

Almost all sectors on the benchmark index posted gains.

Heavyweight mining stocks rose 1.3% on firmer iron ore prices. Sector majors BHP Group and Rio Tinto jumped 1.6% and 1.7%, respectively.

Financial stocks jumped 0.8%, with all "big four" banks trading in the green.

Energy stocks moved up 0.5% as oil prices rose overnight. Woodside Energy and Santos Ltd gained 0.4% and 1.3%, respectively.

Tech stocks added 2.6%, tracking their Wall Street peers higher. Xero Ltd gained 6.5%.

Among individual stocks, Nufarm Ltd jumped 12.8% and was the biggest gainer on the benchmark after it reported an increase in its underlying net profit after tax for half-year.

Beach Energy Ltd fell 6.9% and was the biggest laggard on the benchmark after the oil and gas explorer warned of delays in constructing the Waitsia Gas plant.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index rose 0.6% to 12,022.67 points. (Reporting by John Biju in Bengaluru; editing by Uttaresh Venkateshwaran)