** Australian gold shares .AXGD extended gains in early trade to rise as much as 2.3%, touching another record high level at 11,677.90 points

** Gold prices hit record high as U.S.-China trade war intensified GOL/

** Shares of Northern Star Resources NST.AX added 2.4% while Evolution Mining EVN.AX climbed 2.3%

** Sub-index up 38.5% YTD vs 7.7% fall in ASX 200 benchmark .AXJO

(Reporting by Sneha Kumar in Bengaluru)

((Sneha.kumar@thomsonreuters.com;))