July 27 (Reuters) - Australian shares registered a record closing high on Tuesday, boosted by mining stocks after BlueScope Steel issued a robust full-year earnings outlook.

The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.5% to end at 7,431.4 points, its highest close ever. Earlier in the session, the index hit a record high of 7,447.9 points.

The Aussie benchmark has been "trading in a tight range... waiting for fresh catalysts," said Margaret Yang, a strategist at Singapore-based IG, in a note.

"A major resistance level can be found at around 7,500... the overall trend remains bullish-biased, as suggested by the consecutive higher highs and higher lows formed over the past few months", Yang added.

Adding to the upbeat mood, Victoria state was set to lift a strict lockdown after curtailing the spread of COVID-19. However, neighbouring New South Wales saw daily new cases spike to a 16-month peak.

Among sectors, mining stocks led the gains, with global miners BHP Group and Rio Tinto advancing 2.8% and 1.8%, respectively.

Shares of BlueScope Steel Ltd jumped 6.7% to its highest since October 2008, after the steelmaker predicted that its full-year operating earnings would more than triple to about A$1.72 billion ($1.27 billion).

Energy stocks rose 1.3% as oil prices advanced on bets that tight supply and rising vaccination rates would help offset any impact on demand due to rising virus cases.

Gas explorer Woodside Petroleum gained 1.9% and engineering services provider Worley Ltd was up 3.9%.

Gold miner OZ Minerals jumped more than 9% after reporting a 33% rise in quarterly copper production and raising its full-year gold output forecast.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.7% to 12,590.3, hurt by losses among utility and healthcare stocks.

(Reporting by Soumyajit Saha in Bengaluru; Editing by Amy Caren Daniel)