(Updates to close) By Roushni Nair May 6 - Australian shares...

(Updates to close)

By Roushni Nair May 6 - Australian shares ended lower on Friday amid a global sell-off with all sectors in red as renewed fears of a faster rate-hike cycle kept risk appetite in check after the country's central bank raised inflation forecasts drastically.

The S&P/ASX 200 index (xjo) was down 2.2% at 7205.6, after losing 3.1% in value this week to clock its worst week since October 2020. The benchmark witnessed its worst day since Feb. 24.

The Reserve Bank of Australia warned core inflation could now hit 4.6% by December, a startling two percentage points higher than its previous forecast made earlier this year.

Interest rate-sensitive technology stocks .AXIJ , which tracked a tepid Wall Street session, slumped 4.5% to mark their fifth straight weekly loss.

Sector heavyweights Xero (XRO) and ASX-listed shares of Block (SQ2) gave up 8.6% and 1.7%, respectively.

Traders are banking on central banks to control inflation without overstepping on growth with most economic indicators at extremes and beyond their control, J.P. Morgan global market strategist Kerry Craig said, referring to the poor performances in markets.

Financials .AXFJ retreated 2%, delivering their worst week since late February, with the "Big Four" banks slipping between 0.4% and 2%.

Macquarie (MQG) tumbled 7.6% to its worst day since March 2020 after the financial giant flagged that earnings would decline despite posting a record annual profit.

"In Australia, markets are pricing in on as many as 10 rate hikes by the end of this year implying that cash rate would be somewhere around 3% by 2023," CommSec market analyst Steven Daghlian said.

The mining sub-index .AXMM slid 2.1%, with heavyweights BHP (BHP) and Rio Tinto (RIO) dropping 1.8% and 1.9%, respectively.

Biotech firm CSL (CSL) , one of Australia's largest companies by market value, lost 1.9% in value this week.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index (nz50) fell 1.2% to 11609.38 and saw its worst week since early March.