News: BHP Australia shares track Wall Street lower amid Ukraine crisis

Feb 15 (Reuters) - Australian shares fell on Tuesday, tracking a downbeat Wall Street session amid heightened Ukraine-Russia tensions, although gains in heavyweight iron ore miner BHP Group after bumper first-half earnings provided a floor to the benchmark index.

The S&P/ASX 200 index (xjo) was down 0.6% at 7,203.9 points, as of 2353 GMT. The benchmark closed 0.4% higher on Monday.

Domestic stocks were tracking a sharp sell-off in U.S. peers as plans to close the U.S. embassy in Kyiv, a possible sign of an imminent Russian invasion in Ukraine, prompted investors to pull back from riskier assets.

BHP Group (BHP) gained up to 2.1% after the miner declared a record interim dividend and posted a first-half profit that beat analysts' estimates.

Among sub-indexes, energy stocks .AXEJ were the top losers, shedding nearly 2% as investors locked in profits after the index hit a one-year peak in the previous session. Heavyweights Woodside Petroleum (WPL) and Santos (STO) fell 1.5% and 1.9%, respectively.

Financials .AXFJ dropped 1%, with the 'Big Four' banks slipping between 1.1% and 2.4%.

On the upside, gold stocks .AXGD jumped nearly 2% to their highest level in three weeks as the Russia-Ukraine conflict boosted bullion's safe-haven demand. Shares of Australian miner Newcrest Mining (NCM) rose 1.5%.

The bullion is considered a hedge against soaring inflation and often used as a safe store of value during times of political and financial uncertainty.

The gold rally helped lift the mining index .AXMM up 1.8% to its highest level in nearly four weeks.

In New Zealand, the benchmark (nz50) was down 0.3% at 11,945.52 points, as of 2353 GMT.