* NZ shares at record high
* Aussie dollar weakens ahead of inflation report
* Gold and mining stocks down; CSL up 2.5 pct
By Nikhil Nainan
April 24 (Reuters) - Australian shares were firmly perched at an eight-month high on Wednesday, supported by a strong performance on Wall Street, while a weaker Aussie dollar boosted currency-sensitive stocks.
Better-than-expected earnings saw the S&P 500 index .SPX and the Nasdaq register record closing highs on Tuesday, helping to boost sentiment ahead of the Anzac Day holiday on Thursday. Trade was already thin this week due to the Easter Monday break.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO gained 0.6 percent, or 35.9 points, to 6,355.30 by 0052 GMT, with volumes expected to be softer moving into the mid-week holiday. The benchmark closed 1 percent higher on Tuesday.
While the mood was buoyant, the Australian dollar AUD=D4 weakened 0.1 percent against the greenback, ahead of a much anticipated inflation report due at 0130 GMT.
"This release could have even more impact than normal given comments from the RBA in their recent monetary policy meeting minutes where they indicated that a cut could be pending if inflation remains low and employment buoyant," Nick Twidale
said in a daily morning note.
The currency has been in a downward trend since late March after the country's central bank abandoned its long-standing neutral bias to say its next move in interest rates was likely down. stocks, such as index heavyweight CSL Ltd CSL.AX climbed more than 3 percent to its biggest one-day gain since late December.
While a weaker Aussie bodes well for exporters, Damian Rooney, a director of equity sales at Argonaut, said "the flip side of that is commodity prices; we expect to see gold and commodities trading weaker this morning."
Leading the losses in an overall upbeat market were gold stocks and mining stocks.
Gold prices slipped to near four-month lows as investors sought riskier assets on the back of global equity market gains. GOL/
The local gold sub-index .AXGD fell as much as 1.8 percent, with Northern Star Resources NST.AX sliding nearly 6 percent after posting quarterly production figures.
Financials .AXFJ , meanwhile, gained with the Big Four banks, ranging from top lender Commonwealth Bank of Australia to No. 4 lender National Australia Bank NAB.AX , up between 0.3 percent and 0.7 percent.
The Big Four banks are due to announce earnings next week.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 was trading at its highest level on record, up 0.6 percent at 10,062.84.
Heavyweight a2 Milk Company ATM.NZ rose 1.8 percent, while flag carrier Air New Zealand AIR.NZ was up 1.6 percent.
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