News: UMG Australian shares rise as Liontown, United Malt skyrocket on takeover bids

March 28 (Reuters) - Australian shares jumped more than 1% on Tuesday, as lithium and commodity stocks rallied sharply after battery metals explorer Liontown Resources (LTR) rejected a $3.7 billion buyout bid from Albemarle Corp.

The S&P/ASX 200 index (xjo) rose 1.1% to 7,037.6 points by 0006 GMT, marking a near two-week high.

Liontown soared 59% to a record high after it rebuffed an indicative offer from top lithium producer Albemarle Corp ALB.N that valued the lithium developer at A$5.50 billion ($3.66 billion).

Other lithium players like Pilbara Minerals (PLS) , Allkem (AKE) , and IGO Ltd (IGO) rose between 5.9% and 12.2%.

Meanwhile, United Malt Group Ltd (UMG) jumped nearly 35% after it received a A$1.50 billion ($998 million) non-binding offer from Malteries Soufflet, a branch of French agribusiness InVivo.

Energy stocks .AXEJ added 3.4% on stronger oil prices. Sector majors Woodside (WDS) and Santos (STO) gained 3.8% and 2.7%, respectively.

Miners .AXMM rose on receiving a boost from higher commodity prices. BHP Group (BHP) and Rio Tinto (RIO) added between 0.9% and 1.6%.

Fortescue Metals (FMG) said it would delay initial production at its Iron Bridge Project in Pilbara to the second half of April. Fortescue shares were up 2.1%.

Gold stocks .AXGD declined 1.4% after bullion prices slid. Newcrest Mining (NCM) fell 0.3%.

Banks .AXFJ gained 1.1% after global financial stocks had a respite as a deal for Silicon Valley Bank's assets improved sentiment. The "Big Four" banks rose up to 1.1%.

Shares of local contractor Downer EDI (DOW) climbed 0.6% after the company appointed a new finance chief amid board reshuffle.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index (nz50) jumped 0.5% to 11,673.2 points.

($1 = 1.5015 Australian dollars)