Australia shares buoyed by consumer sentiment, energy stocks weigh

* ASX 200 tracks Wall St higher, consumer sentiment buoys

* 96 shares higher, 92 shares lower, 11 shares unchanged

* Financials, miners lift index; energy stocks weigh (Adds analysis, quotes, stocks on the move)

By Thuy Ong and Naomi Tajitsu

SYDNEY/WELLINGTON, Oct 15 (Reuters) - Australian shares rose 0.3 percent on Tuesday, underpinned by stronger consumer sentiment and tracking Wall Street higher, but weak energy shares tempered broader gains.

Investors bought into battered mining and financial stocks. Three of the 'Big Four' banks gained, with Westpac Banking Corp adding 0.4 percent and Commonwealth Bank of Australia (Other OTC: CBAUF - news) up 1.1 percent. Australia and New Zealand Banking Group bucked the trend, shedding 0.1 percent.

A measure of Australian consumer sentiment rose in October, steadying from a sharp fall in the previous month as households signalled they were more confident about the longer-term economic outlook.

The S&P/ASX 200 index climbed 14.7 points to 5,222.2 by 0224 GMT after reaching a session high of 5,252.8. The benchmark rose 1 percent on Tuesday.

The benchmark index hit an eight-month trough of 5,122.0 on Oct. 13 and has since rebounded modestly from that support level as investors bought into battered stocks. The S&P/ASX 200 dumped almost 6 percent in September as a rout in iron ore prices, concerns about global growth and a rise in bond yields left investors scurrying into other assets.

"In a positive sign for the bulls, the current sell-off is beginning to look technically overdone," said Tim Radford, global investment manager at Rivkin Securities in a note to clients.

"The VIX volatility index is at historically overbought levels."

Among miners, Rio Tinto Ltd (Xetra: 855018 - news) rose 0.1 percent as it reported a strong third quarter, with a 12 percent rise in iron ore production, while rival BHP Billiton Ltd added 0.5 percent.

Elsewhere, energy stocks undercut the market as oil dived more than $4 a barrel overnight, its biggest drop in more than two years. Australia's top oil and gas producer, Woodside Petroleum Ltd slipped 0.2 percent, while Caltex Australia Ltd was down 0.7 percent.

Radford said the recent sell-off in global equities and crude oil markets reflects increasing concerns about global economic growth as well as the rising risk of deflation, especially in the euro zone.

Whitehaven Coal Ltd tumbled 3.2 percent, after the company said it was in talks with contractors to speed up construction on its Maules Creek coal project.

The Reject Shop Ltd added 3 percent, underpinned by company sales for the first quarter climbing 2.7 percent on the prior period.

REA Group Ltd was up 1.3 percent after announcing the sale of its Hong Kong business to iProperty.

New Zealand's benchmark NZX50 index edged up 19.3 points, or 0.37 percent to 5,165.10 as a 3 percent rise in Australian food manufacturer Goodman Fielder (Other OTC: GDFLY - news) helped to pull the index back from an eight-week low hit on Tuesday.

Building materials manufacturer Fletcher Building (NZSE: FBU.NZ - news) rose 1.8 percent to NZ$8.73 ($6.83) after a slide in New Zealand's largest listed company to a nine-month low of NZ$8.48 on Tuesday prompted investors to scoop up shares.

Overall gains were limited by a 2 percent slide in Refining New Zealand to NZ$1.68. The refiner pulled further away from a three-month high of NZ$1.73 touched earlier this week as investors awaited the outcome of labour negotiations after the company narrowly avoided a strike last week. (Editing by Jacqueline Wong)