* Australian shares clock second weekly gain
* Energy stocks snap five-week losing streak
* Tech stocks advance but post weekly decline
May 27 (Reuters) - Australian shares rose more than 1% on
Friday, reversing weekly losses as markets joined a rebound in
global equities on easing concerns about overly aggressive
interest rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve.
The S&P/ASX 200 index ended 1.1% higher at 7,182.70,
with mining and energy stocks leading the gains. For the week,
it added 0.5% in its second straight weekly rise.
Deep Data Analytics' chief executive officer and founder,
Mathan Somasundaram, attributed the rise in markets to macro
global trade and month-end window dressing.
Asian shares extended overnight global gains as investors
weighed the possibility of a slowdown in policy tightening by
the U.S. Federal Reserve later in the year after aggressive
interest rate hikes in the next few months.
Mining stocks rose 1.6% and led gains on the
domestic bourse. Heavyweights BHP Group and Rio Tinto
rose 2.5% and 2.4%, respectively.
Energy stocks rose 2.3% and recorded their first
weekly gain in six on strong crude prices.
Sector leaders Woodside Energy Group and Santos
rose 3.6% and 1.1%, respectively, on Friday.
Oil prices hovered around a two-month high, supported by the
prospect of an EU ban on Russian oil and the coming summer
driving season in the United States.
Financials firmed 1.1%, with the "Big Four" banks
rising between 0.4% and 1.1%.
Technology stocks rose 1.2% but posted a 3.4% loss
for the week.
Gold stocks fell 0.3% and were the only losers on
the benchmark.
Meanwhile, Australian retail sales climbed to record highs
in April as consumers spent big for the holidays, showing
resilience in the face of soaring inflation and cementing fears
about further interest rate hikes.
Somasundaram suggested markets should be stable next week
before the Reserve Bank of Australia's policy meeting on June 7
starts testing the market the week after.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.3%
to 11,065.15, shedding 1.8% for the week.
(Reporting by Himanshi Akhand in Bengaluru; Editing by
Subhranshu Sahu)