Sept 16 (Reuters) - Australian shares rose towards a

record high on Monday, as gold stocks jumped on soaring bullion

prices, while investors waited for an almost-certain rate cut by

the U.S. Federal Reserve later this week.

The S&P/ASX 200 index had climbed 0.5% to 8,143.3 by

1230 GMT and was set for a fifth straight session of gains. The

benchmark was 5.4 points away from its record high of 8,148.7

scaled on Aug. 1.

Gold stocks jumped as much as 2.3% to their highest

since Nov. 10, 2020, after bullion prices soared on Friday on

expectations that the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates

on Wednesday. Top gold miner Northern Star Resources ( NESRF )

climbed 2.5%.

Investors globally look forward to the two-day meeting of

the U.S. Federal Reserve starting on Sept. 17, where the central

bank is widely expected to, after four years, cut rates by at

least 25 basis points.

In Australia, the central bank maintains a hawkish stance,

one which might see some oscillation after the August jobs data,

slated to come later this week, shows how well the labour market

is coping with high interest rates.

Among other sectors, rate-sensitive financials rose

about 0.8%, with top lender Commonwealth Bank of Australia ( CBAUF )

ascending 0.4%.

Miners were up 0.2% after iron ore prices rose on

Friday on expectation of new stimulus from China as well as a

rise in steel demand. Mining behemoth BHP Group ( BHP ) gained

0.3%.

Technology stocks advanced 1.2%, tracking their Wall

Street peers.

On Friday, the U.S. Dow Jones Industrial Average rose

0.72%. The S&P 500 gained 0.54%, while the Nasdaq

climbed 0.65%.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index was down

0.4% to 12,778.65.

(Reporting by Adwitiya Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by

Subhranshu Sahu)