* Tech stocks hit record high
* Crown Resorts faces new lawsuit, shares down 1%
* Healthcare stocks hit lowest in 2 months
By Arundhati Dutta
Dec 14 (Reuters) - Australian shares crept higher on Monday, bolstered by gains in tech stocks after Pfizer (NYSE:PFE)'s COVID-19 vaccine was authorised in the United States, though healthcare stocks sank further after Australia abruptly stopped production of a homegrown vaccine.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO was up 0.14% at 6,651.6 points by 1140 GMT. The benchmark closed lower in the previous session, but posted six straight weeks of gains.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted an emergency use authorisation for Pfizer's PFE.N coronavirus vaccine, with the first inoculations expected within days. sectors, the top gainers were tech stocks .AXIJ , rising up to 1.5% to a record high. Afterpay APT.AX and EML Payments EML.AX were among the top boosts, gaining 4.2% and 1.8%, respectively.
Financials .AXFJ climbed as much as 0.7%, with the so-called "big four" banks adding between 0.5% and 1.5%.
Australia's decision to suddenly halt its COVID-19 vaccine programme on Friday continued to batter healthcare stocks .AXFJ , which fell for a third straight session to their lowest in two months. of CSL CSL.AX , which was developing the vaccine with the University of Queensland, extended losses to a third day, falling 1.7%.
Energy stocks .AXEJ , down 0.9%, tracked a downturn in oil prices as new coronavirus-related restrictions in New York stoked demand concerns. O/R
Index heavyweights Woodside Petroleum WPL.AX and Santos STO.AX lost around 1.3% each.
Crown Resorts CWN.AX fell 1.2% after law firm Maurice Blackburn launched a second class-action lawsuit regarding the firm's share price slump in October. New Zealand, the benchmark .NZ50 was down 0.2% at 12,890.59 points by 1140 GMT. The stock exchange experienced a brief delay in opening due to connection issues, which were resolved soon.