Oct 25 (Reuters) - Australian shares rose on Friday, led by mining and technology stocks, as WiseTech jumped after its former CEO shifted to a consulting role and Whitehaven Coal gained on better-than-expected quarterly output.

The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.3% to 8,231.3, as of 2347 GMT. The benchmark is set for a weekly loss of 0.6%, its biggest drop since late September.

Miners rose 0.3% and were on track for a weekly gain of 0.1%, their first in the last four weeks, even as iron ore prices fell.

Mining giants BHP rose 0.2%, Rio Tinto added 0.9%, while Fortescue extended losses, shedding 0.1% after it flagged higher costs on Thursday.

Whitehaven rose nearly 8% in its best trading session since mid-August, after the country's top independent coal miner said it was optimistic about metallurgical coal prices gaining further and posted first-quarter output ahead of expectations.

Tracking overnight gains in Wall Street peers, tech stocks

rose 5.9% in their best trading session since Feb. 15, after falling for seven sessions.

WiseTech Global surged 22.1%, its best trading session since late August, 2021.

The tech giant's billionaire founder and CEO Richard White stepped down but decided to stay at the firm in a consulting role after a series of damaging allegations about his personal life.

Energy stocks rose 0.5% despite a drop in oil prices, with sector major Woodside adding 0.2%, while Santos was flat.

Gold stocks shed 2.2% even as bullion prices declined. However, Northern Star Resources rose 1.4% and Evolution Mining climbed 0.8%.

Qantas Airways added as much as 1.6% to hit a record high after the flag carrier lifted its first-half revenue expectations from its domestic operations, while forecasting lower fuel costs after a drop in global prices.

Meanwhile, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index rose 0.1% to 12,821.7.

(Reporting by Sneha Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)

((Sneha.kumar@thomsonreuters.com))

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