News: BHP Australian shares rise on mining boost as BHP declares record dividend

Aug 16 (Reuters) - Australian shares rose on Tuesday, supported by heavyweight banks and strong performances from mining stocks following global miner BHP Group's record dividend and upbeat earnings.

The S&P/ASX 200 index (xjo) was up 42.5 points or 0.6% at 7,106.8, as of 0035 GMT. The benchmark closed 0.5% lower on Monday.

Elsewhere, Japan's Nikkei .N225 was down 0.3% while S&P 500 E-minis futures EScv1 were down 0.2%.

BHP (BHP) , the world's largest miner by market value, declared a record dividend on higher annual profit, owing to strong commodity prices and higher sales from its Western Australia iron ore operations.

The stock surged as much as 5.5%, versus a 0.5% gain in the broader mining sector index .AXMM .

Other industry heavyweights Rio Tinto (RIO) and Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) traded marginally higher.

Financial stocks .AXFJ rose 0.8%, helped by three of the country's "Big Four" banks rising between 0.1% and 0.6%.

Energy firms .AXEJ , however, provided a counterweight as they slipped 0.9%, with weak data from China weighing on oil prices. Shares of Woodside Energy (WDS) fell 2.1%.

Top loser in the benchmark index was investment manager Challenger Ltd (CGF) , which shed 11.9% in its worst session since April 2021 after reporting a lower full-year profit.

Fibre cement maker James Hardie Industries (JHX) slashed its annual profit forecast on account of a slowing housing market. Shares of the company were trading 1.8% lower.

Shares of Tassal Group (TGR) hit their highest level since August 2019 after the aquaculture firm said it had accepted a buyout bid from Canada's Cooke Inc, at an enterprise value of A$1.70 billion ($1.19 billion).

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index (nz50) rose 0.3% to 11,829.53.

($1 = 1.4263 Australian dollars)