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By Shivangi Lahiri

May 15 (Reuters) - Australian shares ended higher on Thursday, bolstered by gains in financials and consumer stocks on hopes of a central bank interest rate cut next week.

The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO rose 0.2% to 8,297.50 at the close of trade, rising for the seventh straight session.

Data released during the session showed continued resilience in the labour market, bolstering expectations that the Reserve Bank of Australia will move to ease rates in its upcoming meeting.

While markets expect the RBA to cut rates by 25 basis points on May 20, investors have been scaling back expectations on rate cuts and now see around 74 basis points of easing by year-end compared with more than 100 basis points a couple of weeks ago.

The banking sector .AXFJ rose 1.1%, hovering near a level last hit on May 2.

Tony Sycamore, market analyst at IG Australia, sees limited upside for banks in the near term as the sector continues to battle questions around margin compression.

Local agribusiness Graincorp GNC.AX ended 8.8% higher after its interim earnings beat market estimates and the company upgraded its outlook and extended a share buyback. It was the top gainer on the benchmark index.

Shares of Insurance Australia Group IAG.AX rose 5.7% after it announced an $869 million deal to acquire RAC's insurance business in Western Australia.

Consumer discretionary .AXDJ names including Aristocrat Leisure ALL.AX and Adairs ADH.AX logged advances of 1.9% and 0.8%, respectively.

Tech stocks .AXIJ extended their winning streak to a sixth session, led by Xero XRO.AX, which jumped 5% on strong earnings. WiseTech WTC.AX, DroneShield DRO.AX, and Appen APX.AX all ended higher.

The gains were capped by a pullback in mining stocks .AXMM as iron ore prices retreated. IRONORE/

Energy stocks .AXEJ also declined, with Woodside WDS.AX and Santos STO.AX down 1.7% and 0.5%, respectively, on speculation around renewed nuclear talks between the U.S. and Iran. O/R

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 rose 0.8% to end at 12,880.82.

(Reporting by Shivangi Lahiri in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)

((shivangi.lahiri@thomsonreuters.com))

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