* Afterpay gets lending licence in California
* Energy stocks rise on firm oil prices
* NZ markets closed for public holiday (Updates to close)
Jan 2 (Reuters) - Australian shares closed slightly higher on Thursday, helped by energy and tech stocks, in thin trading volumes as investors returned from the New Year's Day holiday.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO climbed 0.1% to 6,690.60 on the first trading session of the year after a 1.8% drop on Tuesday. Markets were closed on Wednesday.
Investor sentiment was aided by news that the United States and China would sign a trade pact soon after a year of on-and-off negotiations between the world's two top economies. Aussie energy sub-index .AXEJ gained 0.2%, with sector heavyweights Santos Ltd STO.AX and Woodside Petroleum Ltd WPL.AX adding 0.5% and 0.3%, respectively.
Oil prices marked the biggest annual gain in three years in 2019, supported by a thaw in the prolonged dispute between Washington and Beijing and an output cut pledged by OPEC and its allies. O/R
Meanwhile, Afterpay Ltd APT.AX advanced 4.6% and was the fourth-biggest percentage gainer on the benchmark, after the buy-now-pay-later company said California approved its lending licence. came as California rejected a similar application for Sezzle Inc SZL.AX , Afterpay's competitor, knocking the stock down 20.3% to its lowest since its July debut. gain helped the technology sector .AXIJ climb 0.3%.
Telecom stocks .AXTJ also rose, with Telstra Corp TLS.AX firming 1.1% in its best session in over two weeks.
The mining sector .AXMM , which has a heavy bearing on the main index, inched higher. BHP Group Ltd BHP.AX , the world's biggest miner, gained 0.1%, while rival Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) Ltd RIO.AX rose 0.8%.
The gold sub-index .AXGD dipped 0.8%, with Perseus Mining Ltd PRU.AX fell 2.6%, while Resolute Mining Ltd RSG.AX dropped 2%.
Financials .AXFJ ended flat, with all of the Big Four banks closing in the red.
New Zealand markets were closed for a public holiday.