News: AMP Australian shares log worst day in 4 months on rout in banks, miners

	  Lithium miners among top laggards 

	  Gold stocks the only ones in green 

	  Investors await U.S. non-farm payrolls data  

(Updates to close)

Australian shares posted their sharpest daily loss in over four months on Friday, weighed down by financials and miners in a sell-off over prospects of further interest rate hikes.

The S&P/ASX 200 index (xjo) fell 2.3% to 7,144.7 points. The benchmark lost about 2% over the week.

Investor sentiment remained subdued during the week after U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's hawkish remarks, highlighting the need of a high interest rate environment to tame inflation.

Investors now await U.S. non-farm payrolls data for February, due later in the day, which is expected to fuel inflationary woes.

Back in Sydney, banks .AXFJ led the losses with the sub-index closing 2.8% lower.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) said that country's six largest banking service providers have paid or offered A$4.7 billion ($3.09 billion) in compensation to customers charged with higher fees.

All of the "Big Four" lenders fell, with ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ANZ) down 2.8%. Financial conglomerate Macquarie Group Ltd (MQG) and asset manager AMP Ltd (AMP) also fell.

"The bank sell-off is clearly driving the rest of the market lower as lenders face their own set of challenges, which include a slowing property market and greater competition for few loans as the economy slows," said Carl Capolingua, Market Analyst at ThinkMarkets Australia.

Local lithium miners emerged as one of the top laggards on the benchmark, with seven of top ten losers on ASX-200 being lithium producers.

Shares tanked as spodumene prices hit one-year low. Heavyweights Mineral Resources Ltd (MIN) and Pilbara Minerals Ltd (PLS) lost 6.6% and 7.1% respectively.

Energy shares .AXEJ and miners .AXMM tracked the broader market despite higher or unchanged underlying commodity prices. The sub-indexes closed down around 3.3% each.

Mining stocks BHP Group Ltd (BHP) , Rio Tinto Ltd (RIO) , Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (FMG) , and oil and energy majors Woodside Energy Group Ltd (WDS) and Santos Ltd (STO) all traded in the red.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index (nz50) fell 0.8% to end the day at 11,727 points.

($1 = 1.5195 Australian dollars)