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By Adwitiya Srivastava

Oct 29 (Reuters) -Australian shares climbed for a third straight session on Tuesday, led by banks and miners and tracking U.S. peers higher, while investors girded for local inflation data due on Wednesday.

The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO rose 0.3% to 8,249.2 at close. Overnight, the S&P 500 .SPX and the Nasdaq .IXIC rose about 0.2% each.

"Australian investors woke up this morning to see gains on the three major U.S. indices overnight, which gave the green light for the ASX200 to follow suit," said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade.

Technology stocks .AXIJ gained as well, up 0.7%, rising for the third straight day, tracking Wall Street peers. .N

Heavyweight financials .AXFJ advanced 0.5%, led by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia's CBA.AX 0.9% rise.

The mining index .AXMM jumped 0.5% as well, with Rio Tinto RIO.AX leading the gains with a 0.8% rise.

Gold stocks .AXGD rose 1.9%, as bullion prices hovered near a record high supported by uncertainty surrounding the Nov. 5 U.S. elections. GOL/

Bucking the trend, energy stocks .AXEJ fell 0.7%, as oil prices remained little changed from lows hit on Monday due to rising Middle East tensions. O/R

The local inflation data due on Wednesday will be keenly watched for cues on the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) interest rate trajectory.

"Headline CPI is expected to have declined, though it is the trimmed mean figure that the RBA will likely pay most attention to," Waterer said.

"I think we would have to see a significant downside miss on the CPI numbers on Wednesday in order to bring forward an RBA rate cut by year end."

Australia's interest rates have remained at a 12-year high of 4.35% since November 2023 to battle a sticky inflation.

Additionally, investors are also awaiting the U.S. jobs data due later in the week for further cues on the U.S. rate cuts.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 was up 0.1% to finish the session at 12,783.36 points.

Reporting by Adwitiya Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by Sumana Nandy

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