By Roshan Thomas

April 24 (Reuters) - Australian shares extended their rally for a second successive session on Thursday, with miners leading gains, as investors climbed the wall of worry on renewed hopes of progress in the U.S.-China trade dispute.

The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO rose 0.4% to 7,955.6 points by 0023 GMT. The benchmark closed 1.3% higher on Wednesday.

Overnight, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent flagged that steep tariffs on China couldn't be maintained long term.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he had no plans to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell despite days of criticism, and added that a potential deal with Beijing could sharply roll back tariffs on Chinese goods.

"The direction of travel for markets is looking brighter as the Trump administration progressively walks back its trade policies," said Kyle Rodda, senior financial market analyst at Capital.com.

Miners .AXMM, which are heavily exposed to China — Australia's top trading partner — were up 1%, tracking a rise in iron ore prices. IRONORE/

BHP Group BHP.AX, Rio Tinto RIO.AX and Fortescue FMG.AX added 0.9%, 0.7% and 1.7%, respectively.

Financials sub-index .AXFJ followed and was up 0.5%, with shares of the "Big Four" banks up between 0.2% and 0.7%.

Technology stocks .AXIJ tracked their overseas peers higher, and were up 1% in the green.

On the other end, energy stocks .AXEJ were down 1.3%, tracking a fall in oil prices. O/R

Sector heavyweights Woodside WDS.AX and Santos STO.AX shed 2.1% and 1.4% respectively.

In company news, Australian-listed shares of Newmont NEM.AX were up 4.1%. The stock is among the top gainers on the benchmark after the gold miner's first-quarter profit beat Wall Street estimates.

Shares of Liontown Resources LTR.AX advanced by 3.6%, emerging as one of the top gainers on the benchmark after the company reported a 17% rise in revenue for the quarter ended March.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 rose 0.6% to 12,026.4 points.

(Reporting by Roshan Thomas and Rajasik Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)

((Roshan.Thomas@thomsonreuters.com))

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