July 18 (Reuters) - Australian shares were subdued on Thursday,...

July 18 (Reuters) - Australian shares were subdued on Thursday, as technology giants partially offset gains in financials and energy stocks, while investors awaited local jobs data for more clues on the central bank's interest rate trajectory.

The S&P/ASX 200 index (xjo) held its ground at 8057.1, and was hovering near a record high of 8,057.90 points seen in the previous session. The benchmark ended 0.7% higher on Wednesday.

Investors will closely monitor June's employment data due later in the day, as it is likely to provide clues on the Reserve Bank of Australia's rate path.

Australian employment had outpaced expectations in May as firms took on more full-time workers, while the jobless rate dipped.

Rate-sensitive financials .AXFJ led the benchmark index higher by gaining 0.2%, with shares of National Australia Bank (NAB) and ANZ Group (ANZ) rising more than 0.3%.

Australian gold stocks .AXGD were up 0.3% after bullion prices recorded an all-time high on Wednesday.

Shares of Evolution Mining (EVN) climbed 3.3% on posting strong June-quarterly gold production results.

Domestic energy stocks .AXEJ tracked oil prices higher with a 0.2% climb. Shares of Woodside Energy (WDS) were up 0.5%.

Santos (STO) , Australia's no. 2 independent gas producer, advanced nearly 1% after stating that its flagship A$4.3 billion ($2.89 billion) gas project was 77% complete despite a dip in quarterly sales revenue.

Domino's Pizza (DMP) slumped as much as 9.4% after it forecast post market hours on Wednesday that its store growth was likely to be flat-to-slightly-positive in its current fiscal year, and decided to close up to 80 low-volume stores in Japan and 10-20 stores in France.

Information technology firms .AXIJ tracked their overseas peers lower to lose nearly 2%.

Shares of tech firm Wisetech Global (WTC) lost 2%. Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index (nz50) shed 0.2% to 12,272.04 points.

($1 = 1.4868 Australian dollars)