* Australian stocks rise after falling to support level
* Financials and energy stocks underpin gains
* Benchmark posts weekly loss of 0.3 percent
(Updates to close)
By Rashmi Ashok
Nov 23 (Reuters) - Australian shares extended gains in thin trade on Friday, fuelled by banks and energy stocks as the index continued to rise after falling to and bouncing back from an important support level earlier this week.
While broader Asian shares slipped amid worries over cooling global growth and trade tensions, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO climbed 0.44 percent or 24.90 points to 5,716.20 at the close of trade. However, the index fell 0.3 percent during the week.
"The 5,640 level is very important, it held the market for most of 2017. Again this week, when the market came under pressure, we saw the index plunge to that level and immediately recover back," said Michael McCarthy, chief market strategist at CMC Markets.
Referring to the index's jump of 0.9 percent in the previous session after falling to 5,642.8 on Wednesday, McCarthy added "a lot of traders are taking this as a technical signal that the likelihood that the market will rise is much higher because of that bounce off the board in the previous session".
Financials .AXFJ tacked on 1.1 percent to underpin gains, with Westpac Banking Corp WBC.AX adding 1.4 percent and Commonwealth Bank of Australia CBA.AX firming 1 percent.
Going against the grain, energy stocks .AXEJ rose 0.5 percent despite Brent Crude oil futures LCOc1 falling to their lowest level since December 2017 on concerns of oversupply.
McCarthy attributed the gains to traders who were using steep falls in oil prices this week to buy cheapened stocks, adding "its traders playing on the idea that given the fall in oil prices, they're looking for exposure to a bounce."
Despite the bounce, energy stocks posted their biggest weekly loss since October end, off 3.8 percent for the week.
Sector heavyweight Woodside Petroleum Ltd WPL.AX rose 0.8 percent, while Origin Energy Ltd ORG.AX gained 0.6 percent.
Meanwhile, healthcare stocks and materials, both of which heavily depend on China for their income, traded lower.
The Australian dollar, seen as a proxy for China-related trades, eased on Friday.
Drugmaker CSL Ltd CSL.AX fell 1.5 percent, with the overall healthcare index closing 0.7 percent lower.
Meanwhile, the metals and mining index .AXMM slipped lower after Dalian iron ore for January DCIOcv1 fell 2.4 percent.
Global miner BHP BHP.AX fell 0.7 percent, while rival Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) Ltd RIO.AX shed 0.3 percent
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 was nearly flat, inching down 0.02 percent or 1.78 points to finish the session at 8,701.38.
Dairy firm a2 Milk Co Ltd ATM.NZ gained 0.3 percent, while Fonterra Shareholders' Fund FSF.NZ fell 0.6 percent.