Nov 5 (Reuters) - Australian shares dipped on Wednesday, as tepid performances among gold and iron ore miners weighed on commodity stocks, though upbeat financials helped limit the downward trend.
The S&P/ASX 200 index was down 0.2% at 8,798 points, as of 2340 GMT. In the previous session, the benchmark closed at its lowest point in more than a month.
Investors quickly offloaded gold stocks, which have surged about 78% so far this year, after bullion prices dropped more than 1% overnight due to a stronger dollar.
The gold sub-index retreated as much as 4.7% on Wednesday to hit its lowest level in more than a month. Gold miners Northern Star Resources and Evolution Mining declined 2.9% and 4.6%, respectively.
Mining stocks extended their losing streak to a third straight session, hitting a one-month low amid continued weakness in iron ore prices on sluggish demand from China.
The sub-index fell 2.5%, with mining giants BHP Group and Rio Tinto down 1.2% and 2.1%, respectively.
Weak copper and gold prices also weighed on the mining sub-index.
Australian energy stocks declined nearly 1% after oil prices fell, as weaker manufacturing numbers and a firmer dollar weighed on demand.
Technology stocks dropped more than 2%, taking cues from Wall Street, which closed sharply lower overnight after big banks warned that equity markets could be headed for a drawdown.
Heavyweight financial stocks rose 0.8%, helping cushion the benchmark index's losses. The "Big Four" banks gained between 0.4% and 1.4%, with top lender CBA leading the advance with a 1.4% rise.
The Reserve Bank of Australia struck a cautious tone on further monetary policy easing on Tuesday after keeping rates steady, as expected. Elevated interest rates may potentially benefit bank margins.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.3% to 13,562.94 points.
(Reporting by John Biju in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
((John.Biju@thomsonreuters.com [John.Biju@thomsonreuters.com]))
