Australia shares inch higher on mining gains, Woodside rises on better-than-expected results

Feb 24 (Reuters) - Australian shares rose on Tuesday, helped by miners and a smaller-than-expected decline in Woodside's full-year results, while risk sentiment remained muted amid uncertainty over U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff plans.

The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO rose 0.1% to 9,038.10, as of 0022 GMT. The benchmark closed 0.6% lower on Monday.

Markets remained risk-averse as Trump warned countries against backing away from the recently negotiated deals, after a U.S. court struck down his emergency tariffs.

Traders moved towards the safe-haven asset gold, lifting the bullion to a three-week high. GOL/

Local mining index .AXMM surged 2% to an all-time peak, helped by a 2.2% rise in gold miners .AXGD to their highest level since late January.

Northern Star Resources NST.AX added 4.1% and Evolution Mining EVN.AX climbed 3.5%.

Mining giants BHP BHP.AX and Rio Tinto RIO.AX rose around 1.5% each, while Fortescue FMG.AX was up 1% ahead of its six-month results on Wednesday.

Woodside Energy WDS.AX rose as much as 2.1% to a more than 18-month high after posting a smaller-than-expected fall in annual profit due to higher output.

This helped push the energy sub-index .AXEJ around 1% higher as well, with stronger oil prices providing a tailwind. O/R

Shares of Viva Energy VEA.AX climbed 9.7% to their strongest level since late January, emerging as one of the top performers on the broader benchmark, after the company posted a 33% rise in half-year operating profits.

Limiting gains, financials .AXFJ fell 0.6%, ahead of the January inflation print due to be released on Wednesday.

A senior official said that Australia's central bank was looking at underlying inflation measures in new monthly data to assess if there might be a new preferred gauge for policy.

Meanwhile, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 rose 0.4% to 13,479.96.