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By Kumar Tanishk and Roushni Nair

Feb 5 (Reuters) - Australian shares regained some lost ground on Wednesday, helped by gains in mining and energy-focused stocks, a day after the country's top trading partner China took retaliatory measures responding to U.S. tariffs.

The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO closed 0.5% higher at 8416.9.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday suspended tariffs on Mexico and Canada for a month, but imposed a 10% tariff on Chinese imports, prompting China to retaliate with levies on U.S. imports.

Miners .AXMM, which have a roughly 25% weightage on the benchmark and are heavily exposed to China, closed 1.7% higher, after clocking their biggest intra-day jump since Dec. 10.

World's largest listed miner BHP Group BHP.AX and sector heavyweights Fortescue FMG.AX and Rio Tinto RIO.AX all rose over 1.5%.

"The mining sub-index is having a snap back rally after the poor start to the year," said Damian Rooney, director of equity sales at Argonaut. The sub-index fell more than 18% in 2024.

"Iron ores led the way...on hopes that a U.S. and China trade war can be averted despite the first tariffs levied."

Energy stocks .AXEJ rose 1.5%, led by Karoon Energy KAR.AX and Boss Energy BOE.AX, each up over 3%.

Oil prices remain volatile amid trade war tensions, falling 3% on China's tariffs on Tuesday, although prices partially rebounded on Wednesday. O/R

Gold miners .AXGD rose as much as 1.9% to hit a record high earlier in the day, tracking strength in bullion prices. GOL/

Northern Star NST.AX and Evolution Mining EVN.AX advanced 1.7% and 2.1%, respectively.

Meanwhile, shares in fund-manager Insignia Financial IFL.AX surged to their highest in over three years after Brookfield Capital BAM.TO matched rivals Bain Capital's and CC Capital's bid for the company.

In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 fell 0.5% to end at 12,844.6.

(Reporting by Kumar Tanishk and Roushni Nair in Bengaluru)

((Tanishk.Kumar@thomsonreuters.com, Roushni.Nair@thomsonreuters.com;))

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