Australian shares rise as commodity-linked stocks advance

Oct 5 (Reuters) - Australian shares rose on Monday, supported by gains in mining, financial and energy stocks, while investors continued to assess the outlook for interest rates after the central bank lifted its cash rate to a 15-year high last week.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO was 0.5% higher at 8,725.70 points, as of 0031 GMT, after a 0.2% gain last week.

Markets remained focused on the likelihood of further policy tightening after the Reserve Bank of Australia warned that inflation risks were still elevated and reiterated its willingness to raise rates again if price pressures persist.

Although inflation accelerated in August as higher fuel prices lifted living costs, it came in below estimates, offering some relief to investors and reducing bets on another rate increase in November.

Mining stocks .AXMM rose 0.7% on Monday, supported by firmer underlying commodity prices. Iron ore heavyweights Rio Tinto RIO.AX and BHP BHP.AX climbed more than 1% each.

Banks .AXFJ gained 0.6% and were on track for a second straight session of gains. The "Big Four" lenders all traded higher, led by a more than 1% rise in Westpac WBC.AX.

Energy stocks .AXEJ rose 0.2% on elevated oil prices. Sector majors Woodside Energy WDS.AX and Santos STO.AX were up 0.3% and 1.1%, respectively. O/R

Healthcare stocks .AXHJ rose 0.7%, with CSL CSL.AX up as much as 1.3% after the biotech company struck a deal worth up to $1.6 billion with Switzerland's Alentis Therapeutics to jointly develop treatments for rare kidney and liver diseases.

Gold stocks .AXGD gave up early gains to trade down 0.2%, while technology stocks .AXIJ were flat.

Sector majors WiseTech WTC.AX fell 2.2% and Xero XRO.AX lost 1%, making both stocks among the index's worst performers.

Across the Tasman Sea, the New Zealand benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 rose about 0.3% to 13,715.10 points.