* Gold sub-index sole loser among major indices
* "Big Four" banks rise between 2.6% and 3.5%
* Sezzle hits record high after placement
By Arundhati Dutta
July 13 (Reuters) - Australian shares rose on Monday after positive trial results of an experimental COVID-19 treatment overshadowed investor fears about a surge in infections in Victoria, the country's second most-populous state.
Market sentiment improved late last week as data from a late-stage study showed that U.S. biopharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences Inc 's GILD.O antiviral drug remdesivir significantly improved clinical recovery and reduced the risk of death in COVID-19 patients. granted provisional approval to Gilead's remdesivir as the first treatment option for COVID-19 in the country, the Therapeutic Goods Administration had said on Friday. S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO rose 1.4% to 6,002.1 points in early trade, rebounding from previous session's losses.
Meanwhile, the state of Victoria marked a week of triple-digit increases in fresh infections on Sunday, while a community outbreak in neighbouring New South Wales put the state on high alert. energy sub-index .AXEJ advanced 2%, riding on Friday's jump in oil prices. The index was led by Santos Ltd STO.AX , up 3.3%, followed by Origin Energy Ltd ORG.AX gaining as much as 2.4%. O/R
Oil Search Ltd OSH.AX rose up to 2% in early trade, despite announcing an impairment of around $380 million in its half-year results on some major exploration assets and a gas-to-power project in Papua New Guinea. ASX all-ordinaries index .AORD climbed 1.3%, led by buy-now-pay-later firm Sezzle Inc SZL.AX , which surged to a record high after raising A$79.1 million ($55.05 million) from institutional investors. gold sub-index .AXGD dropped 1.3% and was the sole loser among major indices. Dacian Gold Ltd DCN.AX , down 15.8%, was the biggest laggard.
Financial stocks .AXFJ rose 2.7%, with the "Big Four" banks rising between 2.6% and 3.5%.
In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 rose 0.5% to 11,455.84 by 0116 GMT.
The top percentage gainers in the index were telecom operator Chorus Ltd CNU.NZ , up 2.8%, followed by Oceania Healthcare Ltd OCA.NZ gaining 2.1%.
($1 = 1.4370 Australian dollars)