News: XEJ Australian shares fall further after U.S data muddles Fed rate outlook

Dec 8 (Reuters) - Australian shares fell for a third straight session on Thursday, tracking weakness in global equities, as data from the United States worried investors about the pace of rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.

The S&P/ASX 200 index (xjo) fell 0.3% by 2333 GMT. World stocks slid further and Treasury yields dipped on Wednesday as U.S. worker productivity data beat forecasts but extended a weak trend, raising concerns on how far and how fast U.S. interest rates will rise.

U.S. services industry activity unexpectedly picked up in November, with employment rebounding, the latest sign of underlying economic momentum.

In Australia, energy stocks .AXEJ led losses, dropping 1.6% as oil prices fell to its lowest level this year.

Oil and Gas majors Woodside Energy (WDS) and Santos (STO) fell 0.8% and 1.1%, respectively.

Miners .AXMM slipped 0.1% on weak iron ore prices after China's worse-than-expected trade data for November dampened enthusiasm about a major shift in Beijing's COVID containment policy.

Fortescue (FMG) and Rio Tinto (RIO) dropped over 1% each.

Tech stocks .AXIJ slid 0.9%, tracking overnight losses among its Wall Street peers. ASX-listed shares of Block Inc (SQ2) dropped 1.8%.

Financials .AXFJ gave up 0.3% with the so called "Big Four" banks down between 0.08% and 0.6%.

Strong bullion prices led gold stocks .AXGD to advance 2.8%. The country's largest gold miner Newcrest Mining (NCM) added 1.5%.

Share registry firm Link Administration (LNK) declined 10.7% and was among the top losers on the benchmark, after it ended discussions with Canada's Dye & Durham Ltd DND.TO to sell Link's corporate markets and banking and credit management businesses for A$1.27 billion.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index (nz50) gained by 0.2% to 11,638.23 points.