Jan 2 (Reuters) - Australian shares inched higher on Thursday as trading resumed after the New Year holiday, with mining, energy and gold stocks leading the recovery on the back of strong underlying commodity prices.

The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO rose 0.2% to 8,175.5 by 2338 GMT after two straight sessions of falls. The benchmark climbed about 7.5% last year in its second straight annual gain.

Miners .AXMM rose 0.7% on the back of improving iron ore prices. Mining behemoths BHP Group BHP.AX, Rio Tinto RIO.AX and Fortescue FMG.AX climbed between 0.6% and 1.6%. IRONORE/

Energy stocks .AXEJ rose 1.1% after oil prices settled higher on Tuesday. Sector heavyweights Woodside WDS.AX and Santos STO.AX were up 1.2% and 0.8%, respectively. O/R

Gold stocks .AXGD advanced 0.3%, tracking a rise in bullion prices. Northern Star Resources NST.AX and St Barbara SBM.AX were up 0.5% and 2.2%, respectively. GOL/

Technology stocks .AXIJ were down 0.7% after their U.S. peers closed lower on Tuesday. Shares of WiseTech Global WTC.AX and NEXTDC NXT.AX inched lower 0.1% and 0.3%, respectively.

In company news, LendLease Group LLC.AX announced the sale of its UK construction business for 35 million pounds ($43.79 million), exiting its international construction operations. Shares of the company were down 0.2% after rising as much as 2.9% earlier in the day.

Mineral explorer Jervois Global JRV.AX said it had reached an agreement to fund its business. Shares of the company were trading flat.

Markets in New Zealand .NZ50 were closed for a holiday.

($1 = 0.7992 pounds)

(Reporting by Roshan Thomas in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)

((Roshan.Thomas@thomsonreuters.com))

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