* Gold stocks set for best session in two weeks
* Westpac Banking Corp biggest percentage laggard on the local benchmark
* New Zealand benchmark at its highest in nearly six months
By Deepali Saxena
Aug 18 (Reuters) - Australian shares gained on Tuesday after the country's second most populous state reported its lowest daily rise in new COVID-19 infections in a month.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO rose 0.4% to 6,096.8 points by 0042 GMT, from a 0.8% drop in the last session.
Victoria recorded 17 coronavirus deaths in the last 24 hours, down from 25 a day earlier, stoking hopes that a second wave of infection in the state is easing. boosting the morale, Australia's biggest biotech company CSL CSL.AX , said it was in talks with AstraZeneca AZN.L to determine if the potential COVID-19 vaccine being developed by the British drugmaker could be manufactured locally.
Leading the rally, gold stocks .AXGD jumped over 3%, extending gains into the fourth session as the yellow metal touched its highest in nearly a week. GOL/
Evolution Mining EVN.AX climbed to its highest since July 23 as the gold miner resumed operations at its Red Lake Gold Mine in Canada which were temporarily suspended on Aug. 12 following a nearby forest fire. tech sub-index .AXIJ added 1.6%, taking leads from an overnight strong rally on Wall Street. .N
Shares of sub-index heavyweights, Afterpay APT.AX and Xero XRO.AX surged over 2.5% each.
Mining stocks .AXMM gained 1.5% as the Dalian benchmark contract extended gains into a third session on upbeat demand prospects in top steel producer China. IRONORE/
BHP Group BHP.AX eked out gains of nearly 0.1% even as the world's largest listed miner reported a lower-than-expected annual profit and also warned of a slowing economic growth outside China. the losers, Financials .AXFJ dropped 1.3% to mark their worst session in more than a week.
The country's second biggest lender, Westpac Banking Corp WBC.AX fell 3.7% as it scrapped interim dividend citing ongoing uncertainty caused by the coronavirus crisis. by healthcare and real-estate stocks, the New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 , advanced 1.4% to its highest since Feb. 24.
Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corp FPH.NZ climbed 6% to a record high, while Argosy Property ARG.NZ jumped over 4%.