Jan 6 (Reuters) - Banks propelled Australian stocks higher for a third straight session on Monday, while money manager Insignia Financial surged on receiving an A$2.87 billion ($1.78 billion) takeover bid from a second suitor.

The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO climbed 0.4% to 8,279.3 points by 2331 GMT. The benchmark had closed 0.1% lower last week.

Monthly inflation is anticipated to have grown at a faster pace in November compared to the previous two months - its first uptick since May. The data is due on Wednesday.

Financials .AXFJ gained 0.6%, with the "Big Four" banks adding between 0.6% and 0.8%.

Insignia Financial IFL.AX jumped as much as 11.3% to a nearly three-year high of A$3.94 after an A$2.87 billion takeover offer from CC Capital Partners at A$4.30.

The offer is at a 7.5% premium to Bain Capital's rejected bid of A$4 for the 178-year-old money manager.

Heavyweight miners .AXMM shed 1.3% in what could be their worst performance since Dec. 19, after iron ore prices dipped last week on the completion of pre-holiday restocking of feedstocks by Chinese steelmakers. IRONORE/

Sector majors BHP BHP.AX, Rio Tinto RIO.AX and Fortescue FMG.AX dropped between 1.2% and 1.9%.

Energy stocks .AXEJ advanced 0.7% after oil prices rose on Friday in lieu of cold weather in Europe and the U.S. and additional economic stimulus flagged by China. O/R

Woodside Energy WDS.AX and Santos STO.AX climbed 0.9% and 0.3%, respectively.

Gold stocks .AXGD fell 0.2% after bullion was pressured by a strong U.S. dollar on Friday. GOL/

Evolution Mining EVN.AX slipped 1%, whereas Northern Star Resources NST.AX added 0.3%.

Tech stocks .AXIJ rose 1.9% to a nearly one-month high, tracking their U.S. peers.

Xero XRO.AX and WiseTech Global WTC.AX added 2.3% and 1.7%, respectively.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 fell 0.1% to 13,048.46 points.

($1 = A$1.6090)

(Reporting by Sneha Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sumana Nandy)

((Sneha.kumar@thomsonreuters.com))

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