* Miners on track for best day in 1-1/2 months
* Macquarie Group hits highest in nearly a year
* NZ50 extends losses to a fifth session
Feb 22 (Reuters) - Australian shares were little changed in choppy trade on Monday as losses in healthcare and tech stocks countered strong gains in miners driven by buoyant commodity prices.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO swung between positive and negative territory early in the session before trading flat at 6,797.3 by 0055 GMT. It fell 1.3% on Friday.
Mining stocks .AXMM rose about 2.8%, their biggest intraday percentage gain since early January, with copper miners leading the charge after prices of the base metal hit a more than nine-year high last week. MET/L
BHP Group BHP.AX , the world's largest listed miner, gained 3.2%, while copper miner OZ Minerals OZL.AX climbed 9.1% to its highest since July 2008.
Energy stocks .AXEJ fell as much as 1.6% before recouping some of the losses. Woodside Petroleum WPL.AX dropped 0.4%.
Shares of Ampol Ltd ALD.AX fell as much as 7.4% to a more than four-month low after the fuel supplier said it expected market conditions to remain challenging in 2021, with travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic likely to continue denting fuel demand. heavyweight financial index .AXFJ was slightly down, with all the "Big Four" banks trading in negative territory.
Macquarie Group MQG.AX , however, climbed as much as 4.3% to its highest in nearly a year after the company forecast an improved outlook for fiscal 2021. stocks .AXIJ shed 0.9%, with sector heavyweight Afterpay APT.AX falling 0.6%.
Shares of export-reliant healthcare companies .AXHJ came under pressure as the Australian dollar strengthened against the U.S. currency. The sub-index .AXHJ was down 1.5%, with CSL Ltd CSL.AX shedding 1.7%.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 fell 0.5% to 12,484.45 by 0053 GMT, on track for a fifth straight session of losses. Telecom services provider Chorus Ltd CNU.NZ was the top loser in the benchmark.