April 22 (Reuters) - Australian shares rebounded on Monday, driven by gains in miners and financials, as investors awaited a key inflation report due later this week for interest rate cues.

The S&P/ASX 200 index rose 1.4% to 7,668.400 by 0033 GMT, with easing tensions in the Middle East also lifting market sentiment globally. The benchmark fell 1% on Friday.

Globally, commodity prices rose on Friday after Israel and Iran played down the risks of an escalation of hostilities in the Middle East.

In Sydney, market participants keenly awaited the first-quarter inflation data, due on April 24, that may sway the Australian Reserve Bank's monetary easing stance.

Miners rose 1.9%, with sector giant BHP Group advancing 1.6%, after Chinese iron ore futures ended higher last week on improving demand.

South32 rose as much as 6% even after the diversified miner reported a dip in third-quarter manganese ore output.

Shares of mineral sands producer Base Resources more than doubled in value after the company received a A$375 million ($240.90 million) takeover offer from Energy Fuels .

Financials jumped 1.4%, starting the week on a strong note after three weeks of losses. The "Big Four" banks rose between 0.5% and 1.2%.

Energy stocks slipped 0.2%. Oil and gas giant Woodside Energy lost as much as 0.9%, while Santos shed 0.3%.

The healthcare sector rose 2%, with Australia's priciest stock CSL up as much as 2%.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index rose 0.4% to 11,837.7800. Shares of Air New Zealand lost as much 3.5% after the country's flagship carrier trimmed its annual earnings forecast. ($1 = 1.5567 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Rajasik Mukherjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)