News: XIJ Australian shares climb as Fed officials ease banking contagion fears

March 27 (Reuters) - Australian shares rose on Monday, led by banking and real estate stocks, as speeches from the U.S. Federal Reserve officials assuaged investor fears over a potential liquidity crisis in the financial services sector.

The S&P/ASX 200 index (xjo) rose 0.3% to 6,977.3 points by 0009 GMT. The benchmark lost 0.6% last week.

On Wall Street, major indexes ended the session higher after U.S. Fed officials said there was no indication that financial stress was worsening.

In Australia, financials .AXFJ rose 0.5%, with the "Big Four" banks adding between 0.1% and 0.7%.

Bank Of Queensland (BOQ) jumped 1.6% as the lender announced a board reshuffle, appointing former executive chairman Patrick Allaway as its chief executive officer.

Ampol (ALD) was among the top losers in the benchmark index after it flagged a hit to gasoline production at its refinery in Queensland. Shares were down 2.1%.

Local digital payments firm Latitude Group Holdings (LFS) fell 1.7% after announcing that 7.9 million Australian and New Zealand driver license numbers were stolen as a part of a malicious cyber attack on March 16.

Shares of technology .AXIJ and real estate .AXRE companies gained 0.6% and 1.5%, respectively.

Gold stocks .AXGD added 0.4% to the index, with shares of Northern Star (NST) and Newcrest Mining (NCM) rising 0.4% and 1.4%, respectively.

Energy companies .AXEJ were the only major laggards on the ASX200, as oil prices settled lower on poor demand prospects.

Sector majors Woodside (WDS) and Santos (STO) fell 0.4% and 1.7%, respectively.

Shares of Endeavour Group (EDV) , a pub operator that operates poker machines, jump 2.6% on the back of the Labor Party's victory in NSW state election on Saturday, a political result which would mean less or no risk of gambling reforms in the state.

Local miners .AXMM started the day in green as a rebound in underlying iron-ore prices on Friday lifted the sub-index. Mining giants BHP Group (BHP) and Fortescue Metals (FMG) added between 0.1% and 0.6%.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index (nz50) rose 0.3% to 11,616.4 points.