News: XEJ Australia shares extend gains as jobless rate hits 3-yr low; NZ edges down

(Updates to close)

Sept 15 (Reuters) - Australian shares rose for a second straight session on Thursday, boosted by financials, as data showed the jobless rate hit a three-year low in August.

The S&P/ASX 200 index (xjo) closed up 0.2 percent, or 12.21 points, at 5,239.9.

Financial stocks accounted for nearly half of the gains with Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), Australia's biggest bank by market cap, closing 1.9 percent higher.

Mining giant BHP Billiton Ltd (BHP) rose 1.4 percent, while South32 Ltd , the world's biggest producer of manganese, surged more than 3 percent to close at its highest since May.

Gains were offset by falls in energy stocks .AXEJ. Oil major Santos Ltd (STO) fell 2.9 percent, posting its eighth straight session of falls.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index (nz50) ended lower for a sixth straight session, sliding 0.2 percent, or 14.48 points, to finish at 7,196.24.

Financial, telecom and healthcare stocks were the biggest drag.

Steel goods manufacturer Steel & Tube Ltd (STU) plunged over 7 percent in its sharpest percentage fall in 10 months, making it the biggest percentage loser on the index.