* Financials fall for 5th straight session
* CBA halts wealth, mortgage demerger plans
* Mining stocks gain for 3rd day (Updates to close)
March 14 (Reuters) - Mining and energy stocks pushed Australian shares higher on Thursday, while financials capped gains as regulatory uncertainty around mortgage broking businesses sent shivers across the sector.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO ended up 0.3 percent, or 18.4 points, to 6,179.60, snapping four days of losses. The benchmark was down 0.2 percent on Wednesday.
Extending losses for a fifth straight session, financial stocks .AXFJ came under the political spotlight this week after the government said they would reverse a recommendation on broker commissions made by a misconduct inquiry. decision casts doubt over the mortgage-broking business model, with the Labor opposition vowing to cap most broker commissions and ban certain others to remove conflicts of interest.
Amid this political scrutiny, Australia's largest lender, Commonwealth Bank of Australia CBA.AX , said on Thursday it had halted preparations for the planned demerger of its wealth management and mortgage broking businesses. shares declined 0.2 percent, while the rest of the "Big Four" banks lost between 0.2 percent and 0.7 percent.
The financials index declined as much 0.6 percent during the day, but pared losses at the close to end 0.1 percent down.
Meanwhile, mining stocks .AXMM advanced 0.8 percent, gaining for a third consecutive day, as iron ore futures in China climbed to the week's highest on Thursday. IRONORE/
Mining major Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) Ltd RIO.AX added 1 percent, while iron ore miner Fortescue Metals Group Ltd FMG.AX gained 0.5 percent.
Index heavyweight BHP Group Ltd BHP.AX rose 0.8 percent. The global miner has stepped up exploration drilling for gas off Trinidad and Tobago which could supply the country's Atlantic LNG plant in the 2020s, a senior executive said. miners .AXGD advanced as prices held to a two-week high, with Evolution Mining Ltd EVN.AX rising 1.6 percent and Northern Star Resources Ltd NST.AX gaining 1 percent. GOL/
Energy stocks .AXEJ rose 1.4 percent buoyed by a rise in oil prices due to ongoing OPEC supply cuts and U.S. sanctions against Venezuela and Iran. O/R
Oil & gas explorers Woodside Petroleum Ltd WPL.AX and Oil Search Ltd OSH.AX gained 1.4 percent and 1.9 percent, respectively.
Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 closed up 0.51 percent, or 47.81 points, to 9,435.50.
Dairy products maker a2 Milk Company Ltd ATM.NZ was 0.4 percent up, while Auckland International Airport AIA.NZ added 1 percent.