MELBOURNE, Sept 2 (Reuters) - Australian shares rose 0.7 percent on Tuesday, propelled by rate-sensitive banking, retail and property stocks as investors braced for an interest rate cut later in the day, though resource stocks struggled. By 0048 GMT, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was up 33.4 points at 5,151.7. Wall Street was closed on Monday for the Labor Day long weekend. Australia's Reserve Bank (RBA) is expected to trim its main cash rate by 25 basis points to 7 percent, its first easing in seven years, to help boost a slowing economy. "The main game is obviously the RBA. You would think it had been factored in by now, but apparently not. They couldn't have broadcast it much louder," said Nomura Equities strategist Eric Betts. He added there might be a risk the market cools off once it gets confirmation of the move. The RBA will announce its decision at 2:30 p.m. (0430 GMT). It had raised official rates four times in the past year. The top four banks, National Australia Bank Ltd , Commonwealth Bank of Australia Ltd , Westpac Banking Group and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd were all trading more than 1 percent higher. The battered A-REIT index of property trusts <.AXPJ> climbed 2 percent, while the index of discretionary stocks <.AXDJ>, including retailers and media groups, rose 1.4 percent. "With the oil price off, that's an added positive for those guys," Betts said of the smaller retailers. The top miners slid after metals prices fell, with BHP Billiton Ltd/Plc off 2.1 percent and Rio Tinto Ltd/Plc down 3.1 percent. New Zealand's benchmark NZX-50 index <.NZ50> was up 16.8 points, or 0.5 percent, at 3,374.48 at 0047 GMT.
