* Lynas rises on solid Q1 production
* Financials, energy, mining stocks advance
* Healthcare stocks hit by stronger greenback
Oct 21 (Reuters) - Australian shares rose on Wednesday with banking and mining stocks leading the charge, as hopes that U.S. lawmakers could clinch a much-sought-after fiscal stimulus package by the end of the week supported global equity markets.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO rose 0.4%, or 21.4 points, to 6,203.50 by 0025 GMT after losing 0.7% in the previous session.
Overnight, U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi expressed hopes of clearing the coronavirus relief package this week, bringing some stability to markets amid heightened uncertainty ahead of the presidential election. investor sentiment further, a Reuters report said AstraZeneca Plc's AZN.L COVID-19 vaccine trial in the United States was expected to resume as early as this week after the U.S. drug regulator completed its review of a serious illness in a study participant. financial sub-index .AXFJ rose 0.5%, with the "Big Four" banks gaining between 0.5% and 1.6%.
Miners .AXMM added 0.6% with top iron ore producers BHP Group BHP.AX and Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) Ltd RIO.AX advancing 0.7% and 1%, respectively.
An overnight rebound in oil prices after a four-day slump buoyed energy stocks .AXEJ , with Papua New Guinea-focussed explorer Oil Search leading the sub-index higher with a near 3% jump. O/R
Packaging company Orora Ltd ORA.AX was the top percentage gainer on the benchmark with a 6% rise, after providing an upbeat trading outlook for its North American business. producer Lynas Corp LYC.AX was also among the top boosts as it jumped 3% on reporting higher quarterly output. losers, healthcare stocks .AXHJ slipped 0.9%, dragged by a weaker greenback as the sector relies heavily on exports to the United States. CSL Ltd CSL.AX fell 0.3% to be the biggest drag on the sub-index.
In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 inched 0.1% higher to 12,472. Among the top gainers, logistics services provider Mainfreight Ltd MFT.NZ and utilities provider Infratil Ltd IFT.NZ advanced 2.2% and 1.7%, respectively.