Australia shares rise 1.3 pct; MAP tumbles

SYDNEY, July 27 - Australian stocks strengthened 1.3 percent on Monday, buoyed by gains in miners such as Rio Tinto Ltd <RIO.AX> and the leading banks.

Gains were across the board, with analysts noting a more upbeat sentiment among investors heading into the August earnings season.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index <.AXJO> was up 54.4 points at 4,144.2 by 0350 GMT, building on a 0.6 percent gain on Friday.

New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index <.NZ50> rose 35.4 points, or 1.2 percent, to 2,996.6.

STOCKS ON THE MOVE

* Shares in investment fund Macquarie Airports <MAP.AX> (MAP) fell 3.7 percent to A$2.37, extending losses from Friday which came after it announced plans to take over management rights of the fund from Macquarie Group <MQG.AX>.

MAP had gained strongly earlier last week prior to entering a trading halt pending the announcement.

0349 GMT

* Global miner Rio Tinto <RIO.AX> rose 3.1 percent to A$59.35 and BHP Billiton <BHP.AX> added 0.2 percent to A$37.57, but smaller miners staged even bigger rises. Sundance Resources <SDL.AX> jumped 12.9 percent to A$0.18, while Atlas Iron <AGO.AX> gained 5.5 percent to A$1.93 and Mincor Resources <MCR.AX> rose 6.7 percent to A$2.07.

"Commodities prices were a bit weak on Friday, but Chinese miners have said they are looking at interests in Western Australia, and that's still driving the smaller miners," said James Foulsham, head of trading at CMC Markets.

0121 GMT

* Shares in Australia's major banks also gained, led by No. 3 lender, Commonwealth Bank <CBA.AX>, up 1.1 percent to A$40.20 and fourth-biggest lender, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group <ANZ.AX>, rising 0.8 percent to A$17.08. Westpac Banking Corp <WBC.AX> gained 0.7 percent to A$20.22 and No.1 lender National Australia Bank <NAB.AX> rose 0.8 percent to A$22.44.

The nation's biggest investment bank, Macquarie Group <MQG.AX> gained 3.5 percent to A$41.39 ahead of its annual meeting on Wednesday, where its expected to give a trading update.

0118 GMT

* Consumer-related stocks also gained. Top supermarket chain Woolworth <WOW.AX> rose 0.6 percent to A$26.26 and building materials group James Hardie Industries <JHX.AX> added 3.2 percent to A$5.23 on improved investor optimism, analysts said. JB Hi-FI <JBH.AX> rose 3.1 percent to A$16.36 and shopping mall owner Wesfarmers <WES.AX> gained 2.6 percent to A$25.87.

0117 GMT