* Export-reliant healthcare rises as Australian dollar weakens
* Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) forms indigenous advisory group, shares rise
* AGL Energy extends gains for third straight session
By Soumyajit Saha
March 23 (Reuters) - Australian shares opened higher on Tuesday, with healthcare leading the gains, as the benchmark index tracked an overnight rally on Wall Street after U.S. technology stocks rebounded from a recent selloff sparked by surging bond yields.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO was up 0.22% at 6,752.5 points by 2330 GMT. The index closed 0.7% higher on Monday.
The three major U.S. indexes rose between 0.3% and 1.2%, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq .IXIC outpacing its peers. A climb in Treasury yields have being weighing on high-flying technology stocks since mid-February. .N
Shares of export-reliant healthcare stocks .AXHJ rose 1% as the Australian dollar weakened. A weaker local currency tends to help healthcare companies earning in U.S. dollars.
Medical devices maker Resmed Inc RMD.AX gained 1.7%, and drugmaker CSL Ltd CSL.AX was up 0.6%.
Technology stocks .AXIJ mirrored their Wall Street peers to rise 0.7%, with buy-now-pay-later company Afterpay APT.AX and artificial intelligence firm Appen Ltd APX.AX advancing 1.2% and 0.9%, respectively.
The mining sub-index .AXMM was also trading higher, with heavyweights BHP Group BHP.AX and Rio Tinto Ltd RIO.AX gaining 1.4% and 0.6%, respectively.
Rio Tinto said on Tuesday it would form an indigenous advisory group to improve protocols to manage indigenous culture, months after destruction of a sacred heritage site for a mine. stocks .AXUJ advanced 1.4%, with power supplier AGL Energy AGL.AX extending gains for a third consecutive session.
The number of issues on the ASX that advanced were 703 while 441 declined.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 rose 0.5%, largely helped by gains among utility and industrial stocks.