News: XHJ Australia shares rise 1 pct, investors eye US healthcare vote

March 24 (Reuters) - Australian shares posted their biggest intra-day gain in more than three weeks on Friday, led by financials and healthcare stocks and clawing back this week's earlier losses, as investors eyed the possibility of an imminent U.S. healthcare vote.

The market has continued to recover from the 90-point fall on Wednesday, which followed the Trump administration's struggles to push through the healthcare overhaul, seen by investors as a sign he may also face setbacks delivering promised corporate tax cuts.

The S&P/ASX 200 index (xjo) rose 1 percent, or 56.85 points to 5,764.80 by 0108 GMT.

"We are seeing a bit of oversold price recovery coming into Australian market today," said Gary Burton, analyst at IG Markets.

The effect of the U.S. healthcare bill delay initially weighed on Australian stocks but news of a vote later on Friday helped stocks stage a recovery, Burton said.

The U.S. House of Representatives had been scheduled to vote on the bill on Thursday, but leaders put off the vote after failing to find enough support among Republicans to pass it.

The healthcare index .AXHJ rose 1.4 percent, while financials index .AXFJ was up 1.4 percent.

Australia's biggest pharma company by market capitalisation, CSL Ltd (CSL) rose 1.7 percent, while shares of Cochlear Ltd (COH) gained 1.4 percent.

Australia's "big four" banks rose between 0.9 percent to 1.5 percent.

Iron ore miner Fortescue Metals (FMG) rose 1.5 percent after it said it will pay down a $1 billion term loan, reducing its debt to $3.6 billion.

Shares of BHP Billiton (BHP) rose 0.8 percent. The strike at Chile's Escondida, which is operated by BHP, is ending after workers decided to invoke a rarely used legal provision that allows them to extend their old contract, the union said on Thursday.

Meanwhile, gold stocks lost some shine, with the Aussie gold index shedding 1.4 percent.

Evolution Mining (EVN) lost 4.2 percent and Newcrest Mining (NCM) fell 0.4 percent.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index (nz50) rose 0.2 percent or 10.58 points at 7,073.13.

Healthcare and industrials stocks led the index, with Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corp (FPH) gaining 1.1 percent while Auckland International Airport Ltd (AIA) rose 0.9 percent.

($1 = 1.3101 Australian dollars)