Feb 1 (Reuters) -Australian shares rose on Wednesday, lifted by stronger commodity prices, as the benchmark index tracked overnight gains on Wall Street after encouraging U.S. data.

The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO rose 0.7% to 7,532.2 points by 2339 GMT. The benchmark slipped about 0.1% on Tuesday.

U.S. stocks closed higher on Tuesday after data showed labour cost growth in the fourth quarter was the smallest in a year, at 1.0%, even in a tight jobs market. MKTS/GLOB

Domestic miners .AXMM rallied, with the sub-index gaining 1.3%. Iron-ore behemoths BHP Group BHP.AX, Rio Tinto RIO.AX and Fortescue Metals were up between 1.2% and 1.6%, respectively.

Financials .AXFJ rose 0.6% to its highest since May 2022, with all "Big Four" banks posting gains.

Local energy stocks .AXEJ added 0.5% on the back of steady oil prices overnight. Sector majors Woodside WDS.AX and Santos STO.AX climbed 0.9% each.

Technology stocks .AXIJ rose 0.5%, with Xero XRO.AX and Block Inc SQ2.AX adding gains to the benchmark.

Among individual stocks, Flight Centre Travel Group FLT.AX surged as much as 14.9%, eyeing its best day in more than two years as the travel agency said it will buy British travel business Scott Dunn for A$211 million ($148.67 million).

The company undertook a A$180 million capital raising to fund the acquisition.

Credit Corp CCP.AX was the top loser on the ASX 200 after its profit fell and missed analysts' estimates. Its shares fell 9.2% in its worst session Aug. 2, 2022.

Maggie Beer MBH.AX dropped 7% despite posting a rise in half-year net sales and profit.

In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 was down 0.7% at 12,056.5.

($1 = 1.4192 Australian dollars)

Reporting by Rishav Chatterjee in Bengaluru; editing by Uttaresh.V

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