Oct 6 (Reuters) - Australian shares fell on Thursday, with...

Oct 6 (Reuters) - Australian shares fell on Thursday, with gains in the energy sector being offset by broad losses elsewhere, as investors remained on the sidelines about a potential global recession.

The S&P/ASX 200 index (xjo) was down 0.18% at 6,815.7 points, as of 2356 GMT. The benchmark closed 1.7% higher on Wednesday.

Markets globally were weighed down by new U.S. data showing the jobs market remains hot, which bolstered ongoing hawkish talk from the U.S. Federal Reserve officials and dwindled hopes for a pivot from a steady stream of rate hikes to fight inflation, and a likely recession as a result.

Financials .AXFJ fell 0.7%, with three of the "Big Four" banks skidding more than 1% each.

Interest rate-sensitive technology stocks .AXIJ slipped 0.6%, tracking a sell-off on tech-heavy Nasdaq index on the Wall Street.

Software firm Novonix (NVX) tumbled 4.2% and Megaport (MP1) slipped 1.8%.

Energy .AXEJ was the only sector significantly in the green with a 2.1% jump, as oil prices rose overnight after OPEC+ agreed to its deepest cuts to production since the COVID-19 pandemic, despite a tight market and opposition to cuts from the United States and others.

Oil and gas major Woodside Energy (WDS) and Santos (STO) advanced 2.5% and 1.8%, respectively.

Appen Ltd (APX) fell 18%, hitting an over five-year low, after the artificial intelligence firm said its fiscal 2022 earnings could drop as much as 84%, hurt by weaker advertising revenue and a slowdown in spending by some of its major customers.

Magellan Financial Group (MFG) was the biggest loser on the local bourse, tumbling 9.1% to an eight-year low after the fund manager reported its funds under management plunged 11.6% in September.

Elsewhere, lithium developer Lake Resources (LKE) was the biggest gainer on the local bourse, climbing nearly 10% to an over two-week high on signing an offtake deal for battery grade lithium from its Kachi Project in Argentina.

Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index (nz50) traded down 0.4% at 11,135.4 points.