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Australia shares rise; WiseTech Global and MinRes slip on top exec reviews



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Oct 21 (Reuters) - Australian shares rose on Monday tracking a strong finish on Wall Street on Friday, while stocks in tech major WiseTech Global and lithium miner Mineral Resources fell after the firms initiated investigations concerning their top executives.

The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO rose 0.7% to 8,340.2, as of 2333 GMT. The benchmark fell 0.9% on Friday.

Shares of Australia's biggest listed tech firm WiseTech Global WTC.AX tumbled more than 18% in their worst session in more than a year.

The company said it will investigate certain matters regarding its chief, after media reports alleged payments were made to CEO Richard White's former lover, among others.

Tech stocks .AXIJ, the only sector trading lower, lost as much as 5.1%, touching their lowest level in nearly two months.

Mineral Resources MIN.AX fell nearly 14% in its worst trading day since November 2009, after it said it initiated an investigation into an alleged tax evasion scheme by its billionaire founder, Chris Ellison.

The U.S. Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 36.86 points, or 0.09%, to 43,275.91 on Friday. The S&P 500 .SPX gained 23.20 points, or 0.40%, while Nasdaq .IXIC gained 115.94 points, or 0.63%. .N

In Sydney, mining stocks .AXMM rose 1% despite iron ore prices declining on persistent weakness in top trader China's economy and steel market. /IRONORE

Iron ore giants BHP BHP.AX and Rio Tinto RIO.AX gained 1.1%, each, while Fortescue FMG.AX climbed 0.4%.

Financials .AXFJ rose 1% to hit a record high, with the "Big Four" banks gaining between 0.4% and 0.9%.

Energy stocks .AXEJ rose 1.1%, notwithstanding a fall in oil prices. O/R

Sector majors Woodside WDS.AX rose 0.8% while Santos STO.AX climbed 1.3%.

Gold stocks .AXGD tracked bullion prices to rise as much as 3.1% to a more than four-year high. GOL/

Top gold miners Northern Star Resources NST.AX and Evolution Mining EVN.AX gained 1.9% and 3.8%, respectively.

The New Zealand benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 fell 0.1% to 12,816.



Reporting by Sneha Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich

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