(Updates to close)
Sept 15 (Reuters) - Australian shares rose for a second straight session on Thursday, boosted by financials, as data showed the jobless rate hit a three-year low in August. S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO closed up 0.2 percent, or 12.21 points, at 5,239.9.
Financial stocks accounted for nearly half of the gains with Commonwealth Bank of Australia CBA.AX , Australia's biggest bank by market cap, closing 1.9 percent higher.
Mining giant BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) Ltd BHP.AX rose 1.4 percent, while South32 Ltd S32.AX , the world's biggest producer of manganese, surged more than 3 percent to close at its highest since May.
Gains were offset by falls in energy stocks .AXEJ . Oil major Santos Ltd STO.AX fell 2.9 percent, posting its eighth straight session of falls.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 ended lower for a sixth straight session, sliding 0.2 percent, or 14.48 points, to finish at 7,196.24.
Financial, telecom and healthcare stocks were the biggest drag.
Steel goods manufacturer Steel & Tube Ltd STU.NZ plunged over 7 percent in its sharpest percentage fall in 10 months, making it the biggest percentage loser on the index.