Australian shares climb after Wall Street rally; miners and banks lead gains

By Sneha Kumar

July 10 (Reuters) - Australian shares rose on Thursday, led by mining and banking stocks, tracking an overnight Wall Street rally where positive signals from the U.S. Federal Reserve's meeting minutes and Nvidia's historical run overshadowed tariff headlines.

The S&P/ASX 200 benchmark index .AXJO closed 0.6% higher at 8,589.2 points, just short of the record high close of 8,603 points touched earlier this month.

Wall Street indexes finished higher after the Fed's June meeting minutes showed most policymakers expected the U.S. tariffs to cause only "temporary or modest" price shocks, leaving room for rate cuts later this year. .N

"Australian investors put aside the disappointment of the RBA's rate hold earlier in the week, with stocks heading north after a night of gains on Wall Street," said Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade.

Traders also calibrated their reactions to tariff headlines better, certainly in comparison to some of the larger market swings seen in April, Waterer said.

Australia faces a 10% "baseline" tariff, the minimum for all U.S. trading partners. Waterer said adverse tariff effects would more likely be indirect, but warned sector-specific levies could pose a threat.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced a new 50% tariff on copper imports effective August 1. Top copper player Sandfire Resources SFR.AX fell 0.7%, while the ASX-listed shares of Canada-based Capstone Copper CSC.AX dipped 1.4%.

However, the mining sub-index .AXMM jumped 1.4%, driven by top iron ore miners BHP BHP.AX, Rio Tinto RIO.AX and Fortescue FMG.AX gaining between 1% and 1.9%.

Gold stocks .AXGD rebounded over 2% after their sharpest plunge in three weeks in the previous session. Evolution Mining EVN.AX and Northern Star Resources NST.AX rose 3.6% and 1.5%, respectively. GOL/

Banks .AXFJ climbed 0.7% with all the "Big Four" banks adding between 0.5% and 1.1%.

Among losers, healthcare .AXHJ and tech stocks .AXIJ slipped about 0.5%, while energy firms .AXEJ slipped marginally.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 fell 0.1% to 12,760.2.

For more information on DIARIES & DATA: U.S. earnings diary  RESF/US   Wall Street Week Ahead   .N/O Global Economy Week Ahead DATA/ ................................................................ For latest top breaking news across all markets          NEWS1