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By Sneha Kumar

May 1 (Reuters) - Australian shares ended slightly higher on Thursday, extending their winning streak to six sessions, on the back of gains in technology and real estate stocks.

The S&P/ASX 200 benchmark index .AXJO closed 0.2% higher at 8,145.6 points. The benchmark rose 0.7% on Wednesday.

On Wednesday, data showed that the first-quarter core inflation slowed to a three-year low, taking the annual pace back into the Reserve Bank of Australia's 2% to 3% target band for the first time since late 2021, setting up the central bank to cut interest rates on May 20.

"Rate cuts are normally positive for home prices as it boosts how much buyers can borrow and hence pay for a property," Shane Oliver, chief economist at AMP wrote.

Real-estate stocks .AXRE ended 1.6% higher at an over two-month high with a 3.4% rise in data centre landlord Goodman Group GMG.AX.

Local tech stocks .AXIJ rose 4% with DigiCo DGT.AX, NEXTDC NXT.AX and Data#3 DTL.AX climbing between 4.6% and 6.3%.

The data centre-focused stocks, among top performers on the benchmark, rose after Microsoft and Meta forecast strong growth and increased spending in the sector. .N

Australian consumer staples .AXSJ added 1.4%, with the country's top retailer Woolworths WOW.AX rising 1.2% after it posted a 3% jump in third-quarter sales, beating analysts' estimates of a largely flat number.

Limiting gains, commodity sectors mining .AXMM, energy .AXEJ and gold stocks .AXGD shed between 1% and 1.4%.

Oil prices staged a mild recovery while prices of the precious metal continued their decline. O/R GOL/

Meanwhile, banks .AXFJ ended flat with gains in top lender Commonwealth Bank of Australia CBA.AX offsetting losses in Westpac WBC.AX, National Australia Bank NAB.AX and ANZ ANZ.AX.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 rose 2.1% to 12,148.6 points.

(Reporting by Sneha Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)

((sneha.kumar@thomsonreuters.com))