Mining stocks, banks lift Australian shares ahead of inflation data

March 26 (Reuters) - Australian shares advanced on Wednesday, aided by a rise in mining and financial stocks, as investors awaited local inflation data for February, due later in the day, to gauge the country's central bank's stance on prospects of rate cuts.

The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 0.8% to 8,001.7 points by 2327 GMT, set for a fifth consecutive session of wins. The benchmark breached the 8,000-point level for the first time since March 7.

The Australian government doled out fresh tax cuts on Tuesday along with other cost-of-living relief measures when it announced the general budget, in a major push to win back disgruntled voters.

However, mean inflation is now expected to pop up again to 3% over the next fiscal year, the top of the central bank's target band of 2% to 3%, before steadying at 2.5% by 2028.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) has warned earlier that further policy easing is not guaranteed, having just cut interest rates for the first time in over four years last month.

The RBA is set to announce its next decision on April 1, with the market not pricing in another full rate cut until July.

Miners led gains on the benchmark, rising 1.4% on stronger iron ore prices, which were buoyed by higher demand.

Heavyweight miners Rio Tinto, BHP Group and Fortescue added between 1.2% and 1.4%.

Banks added to gains on the benchmark, rising 1.0%, while the "Big Four" banks rose between 0.9% and 1.9%.

Gold stocks also advanced 1.7%, tracking higher bullion prices, while gold miner Evolution Mining added 1.2%.

Bucking the trend, healthcare stocks slipped 0.3%, with biopharmaceutical giant CSL declining 0.2%.

Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index rose 0.8% to 12,281.33 points during trade.

(Reporting by Shivangi Lahiri in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)