News: NST Australia shares hit one-month low as banks, commodity stocks slide

May 3 (Reuters) - Financial and commodity stocks dragged Australian shares to their lowest in more than a month on Wednesday, a day after the central bank surprised with a rate hike, while global investors worldwide worried of a potential U.S. debt default.

The S&P/ASX 200 index (xjo) was down almost 1% by 0035 GMT.

On Tuesday, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) stunned markets with a 25 basis point hike on account of continued elevated price pressures and the need for higher rates to be bring them under control.

Global sentiment also took a hit on concerns of a debt default in the United States, with the focus shifting towards the Federal Reserve's meeting later in the day, where another 25 basis rate hike is likely to be on the cards.

Australia's financial sector .AXFJ , which occupies one-third of the benchmark, led losses, dropping about 1.7% to see its worst day since March 20. The country's largest banks lost in the range of 1.6% and 1.7%.

The energy index .AXEJ followed suit, dropping about 2.3%, after Brent crude prices slumped overnight. Santos (STO) and Woodside Energy (WDS) dropped 2% and 2.7%.

Other indexes such as technology .AXIJ and healthcare .AXHJ traded around 1% and 0.3% lower, respectively.

The gold index advanced nearly 4.1% on account of higher bullion prices. Newcrest Mining (NCM) and Northern Star Resources (NST) gained 2.7% and 5.1% respectively.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index (nz50) fell 1% to 11,917.3 points.