News: RIO Miners lead Australian shares higher

July 3 (Reuters) - Australian shares rose on Wednesday, led by gains in miners, while Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell struck a moderately dovish tone in his comments, suggesting that the central bank is more than likely to start its easing cycle later this year.

The S&P/ASX 200 index (xjo) was up 0.2% at 7,731.700 points by 0043 GMT. The benchmark fell 0.4% in the previous session.

On Tuesday, Powell said that the U.S. is back on a "disinflationary path", though the Fed needed to see more progress before changing policy.

Following Powell's remarks, more than 61% of market participants expect the central bank to cut interest rates at its September meeting compared to 59.8% a day earlier, according to the CMEFedWatch tool.

Back in Sydney, mining stocks .AXMM inched 0.6% up, aided by a rise in global iron ore prices.

Mining heavyweight BHP Group (BHP) advanced 0.2% while iron ore miner Rio Tinto (RIO) lost 0.2%.

Financials .AXFJ snapped a two-day losing streak to gain as much as 0.5%. The 'Big Four' banks all rose between 0.3% and 0.7%.

Energy stocks .AXEJ gained 0.4% despite a fall in global oil prices, which fell as fears of Hurricane Beryl causing supply disruptions faded away.

The sub-index is on its track for a seventh consecutive session of gains.

Woodside Energy (WDS) gained 0.3%, while smaller peer Santos (STO) added 0.5%.

Healthcare shares .AXHJ traded flat, while IT stocks rose 0.3%, snapping a two-day losing streak as they tracked their U.S. peers higher.

Real estate .AXRE stocks jumped 0.3% on the day. Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index (nz50) rose 0.2% in early trade.