Feb 13 (Reuters) - Australian shares were largely unchanged in early trade on Tuesday as biotechnology major CSL fell further, offsetting gains in heavyweight banks and miners.

The S&P/ASX 200 index was marginally lower at 7,612.20, as of 0007 GMT. The benchmark fell 0.4% on Monday.

Shares of CSL declined as much as 3.5%, extending losses to a second session after the company warned of second-half losses at its influenza vaccine making unit CSL Seqirus and flagged near-term growth challenges for its specialty pharmaceuticals unit CSL Vifor.

CSL shares fell 4.8% on Monday after the company said its drug CSL112 in a Phase III trial failed to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events in the 90-day high-risk period that follows a heart attack.

Among gainers, mining stocks rose 0.7%. BHP Group climbed 0.5%, while Fortescue was up 0.4%.

Financials gained 0.8%. The "big four" banks rose between 0.2% and 0.8%.

Financial conglomerate Macquarie slipped as much as 4.3% and was on track for its worst session since late July last year, after its year-to-date fiscal 2024 net profit after tax fell "substantially" due to weakness in its commodities and other market-facing businesses.

Energy stocks were marginally up. Woodside Energy gained 0.3%, while Santos was down 0.14%.

Meanwhile, investors across the globe awaited U.S. inflation data due later in the day for clues on when the Federal Reserve is likely to begin cutting interest rates.

A Reuters poll forecasts a 0.2% monthly rise, down from 0.3% in December, which could fuel expectations of a Fed rate cut in May.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index was down 0.2% at 11,737.65, heading for a fourth consecutive session of declines. It fell up to 0.4% earlier in the session, hitting its lowest level in three weeks.

(Reporting by Neha Soni in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)