* CSL, James Hardie among few gainers after raising forecast
* Healthcare stocks at near 2-month high
* NZ50 on track to gain for 11th session in the run up to elections
Oct 14 (Reuters) - Australian shares inched down on Wednesday as halted vaccine trials and uncertainty around a U.S. fiscal stimulus package hit sentiment, though a jump in healthcare stocks led by CSL Ltd capped losses.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO fell 0.1% to 6,191.30 by 0018 GMT, after closing 1% higher in the previous session.
Most sub-indexes were in the red but healthcare stocks .AXHJ remained a bright spot, climbing 1.7% to a near two-month high, powered by biotech major CSL CSL.AX .
The company raised its full-year profit forecast as it expected higher demand for vaccines, plasma and recombinant products amid the COVID-19 pandemic. overall sentiment was sombre after drugmaker Johnson & Johnson JNJ.N said on Tuesday it was pausing clinical trials of a COVID-19 vaccine candidate due to an unexplained illness in a participant. in the day, rival Eli Lilly (NYSE:LLY) & Co LLY.N also said it would halt its coronavirus antibody trial on safety concerns. hopes for the passage of a U.S. coronavirus bill also added to the gloom after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rejected the $1.8 trillion coronavirus relief proposal from the White House, calling it inadequate to support the pandemic-ravaged economy. financial stocks .AXFJ led losses, falling 1.1%. The "Big Four" lenders slid between 1% and 1.5%.
The energy sub-index .AXEJ shed 1.2%, with the country's largest independent gas and oil producer Woodside Petroleum Ltd WPL.AX and smaller peer Beach Energy Ltd BPT.AX losing about 2% each.
Among top gainers, buildings materials supplier James Hardie Industries Ltd JHX.AX jumped 4.4% after raising fiscal 2021 outlook on experiencing solid demand for its services. New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 was up 0.3% to 12,489.20, on track to gain for the eleventh day in the run up to the election on Oct. 17.
Top percentage gainers were logistics provider Mainfreight Ltd MFT.NZ , up 5.18%, followed by Infratil Ltd IFT.NZ , gaining 1.74%.