Australia shares rise on strong mining, energy sectors; NZ subdued

(Adds analysis, quotes, stocks on the move)

By Gyles Beckford and Ian Chua

SYDNEY/WELLINGTON, April 8 (Reuters) - Australian shares rose on Wednesday as higher oil prices helped shore up the energy sector, while steadier iron ore prices prompted some investors to buy recently battered miners.

Bank shares, however, were mostly softer with the market still struggling to get over its disappointment that the central bank did not cut interest rates on Tuesday.

The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.3 percent, or 18.6 points, to 5,944.6 by 0237 GMT. The benchmark index is not far from a seven-year peak of 5,996.9 set last month.

Woodside Petroleum (Xetra: WOPA.DE - news) climbed 2.2 percent, and Oil Search gained 4.7 percent after U.S. crude approached 2015 highs overnight.

Among the iron ore producers, Fortescue Metals (Hamburg: FVJ.HM - news) rallied 4.7 percent, while Arrium put on 5.2 percent.

"Iron ore broke an eight-session losing streak but there is still some concerns for the sector," said Stan Shamu, market strategist at IG (LSE: IGG.L - news) . "For me it's more of a dead cat bounce for a lot of these players."

Banks were led by a 0.5 percent fall in ANZ. Shares (Berlin: DI6.BE - news) in National Australia Bank hit a 7-1/2-year high, but have since reversed their gains to be flat on the day.

New Zealand's benchmark NZX50 index was marginally firmer, up 0.1 percent at 5,855.5, on modest demand for some leaders and mid-cap stocks.

Among the better performers were Auckland International Airport up 0.9 percent, rest home operator Ryman Healthcare up 1.0 percent, and power company Mighty River Power up 1.3 percent.

Several stocks including pharmacy retailer Green Cross (KSE: 006280.KS - news) , wood products company Tenon, and software company ikeGPS posted solid gains but on slim volumes.

The top three companies by capitalisation led the declines, with telecommunications company Spark down 2.5 percent, Contact Energy (NZSE: CEN.NZ - news) down 1.5 percent, and Fletcher Building (NZSE: FBU.NZ - news) 0.5 percent lower.

Units (HKSE: 0405.HK - news) in dairy giant Fonterra's investment fund hit a lifetime low of NZ$5.42, which reflected the paying out of a 10 cents a share dividend. (Editing by Jacqueline Wong)