Jan 14 (Reuters) - Australian shares snapped a three-day losing streak on Tuesday, with miners and energy companies leading the gains on strong underlying commodity prices.

The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO rose 0.5% to 8,228.9 points by 2335 GMT. The benchmark had closed 1.2% lower on Monday.

Heavyweight miners .AXMM gained 0.8%, the highest since Dec. 18, 2024, after iron ore prices hit more than two-week high as revived hopes of more stimulus from top buyer China boosted sentiment. IRONORE/

Sector major BHP BHP.AX added 0.9%, while smaller peer Rio Tinto RIO.AX gained 1%.

Energy stocks .AXEJ extended their gains from Monday to jump 0.8%, boosted by rising global oil prices on expectations that wider U.S. sanctions on Russian oil would force buyers in India and China to seek other suppliers. O/R

The sub-index hit the highest since Oct. 17, 2024, with Woodside Energy WDS.AX rising 0.8%.

Brent crude LCOc1 futures edged up 1.43% to $80.90 a barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate $(WTI)$ crude CLc1 shed 0.01% to $78.81 per barrel.

Financials .AXFJ also busted a three-session losing run to rise 0.3%. The "Big Four" banks advanced between 0.1% and 0.4%.

Investors are awaiting the local employment data due later in the day for cues on the Reserve Bank of Australia's $(RBA)$ policy stance. A strong jobs data could further defer rate cuts.

Health stocks .AXHJ ascended 0.2% after declining for two days, while real estate stocks .AXRE added 1.1%.

Bucking the trend, gold stocks .AXGD snapped five sessions of gains to fall 0.5% on lower bullion prices. Gold XAU= fell 0.01% to $2,662.20. GOL/

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 rebounded, rising 0.2% to 12,847.27 by 2335 GMT.

(Reporting by Rajasik Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Sumana Nandy)

((Rajasik.Mukherjee@thomsonreuters.com))

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