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Miners hit record high; gold, oil stocks rise

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Financial stocks emerge as top loser on benchmark

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Australia, NZ fourth-quarter inflation print due Wed

Jan 24 (Reuters) - Australian shares rose for a fifth straight session on Tuesday, as miners jumped to a record high on strong commodity prices and tech stocks tracked overnight gains in their Wall Street peers.

The S&P/ASX 200 index ended 0.4% higher at 7,490.40, touching its highest level since April 22 last year. Gains were however capped as financials slipped 0.3%, with the so-called "big four" banks closing in negative territory.

"Financial stocks faced selling pressure following today's business sentiment survey, which highlighted weaker business conditions and a third consecutive month of negative confidence," said Matt Simpson, a senior market analyst at City Index.

A survey from National Australia Bank Ltd showed its index of business conditions fell 8 points to +12 in December, although it remained well above its long-run average.

On Wednesday, both New Zealand and Australia will release data that is likely to show inflation peaked in the fourth quarter.

Markets still lean towards a quarter-point hike from the Reserve Bank of Australia next month, but talks of a pause are on the rise after softer jobs data last week.

Mining stocks jumped 1.3%. BHP Group gained 0.6% after the diversified miner signed a deal with Canada's Mundoro Capital to explore copper in Serbia, while iron ore giants Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals Group rose 0.8% and 0.6%, respectively.

Lithium stocks soared further, with Mineral Resources hitting its highest level on record, while Pilbara Minerals advanced for a fourth straight session.

Brokerage UBS hiked its price outlook for lithium on tight supply, and upgraded its earnings forecasts for Australian lithium miners.

Technology stocks soared 1.3% after their U.S. peers closed sharply higher overnight amid expectation of a smaller interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve.

ASX-listed shares of Block Inc climbed 5.7%, while Xero Ltd added 3.3%.

Energy and gold stocks too rose on strong underlying commodity prices.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.1% to 11,932.92. (Reporting by Jaskiran Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)