News: XIJ Australian shares fall as tech stocks, banks drag; NZ drops

March 7 (Reuters) - Australian shares edged lower on Monday, as a Wall Street-led drop in local tech stocks and banks outweighed sharp gains in miners and energy stocks following a consistent spike in commodity prices on supply risks from Russia.

The S&P/ASX 200 index (xjo) was down 0.9% at 7,044.9 points, with the tech index .AXIJ leading losses.

The tech sub-index slid 3.9%, down for a third straight session and dropping to its lowest since Feb. 25. Payments firm Block Inc's Australian shares (SQ2) declined 9%, the biggest percentage loser on the sub-index.

Financial stocks .AXFJ fell 1.5%, on track for their fourth session of losses and lowest levels since Jan 28.

Major banks dropped between 0.8% and 1.7%, although the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) was up 0.9%.

However, robust commodity prices have set energy stocks .AXEJ for their best session since November 2020, logging a gain of over 6%.

Australia's top independent gas producer Woodside Petroleum (WPL) outperformed gains in the energy sector, surging nearly 10%. Shares of Santos (STO) jumped 6%.

Australian gold miners .AXGD jumped 4.7% to their highest levels since July 16 as demand for safe-haven bullion lifted prices by about 4% in the past week.

Resolute Mining (RSG) was the top gainer on the sub-index, climbing 11%, followed by De Grey Mining (DEG) , up nearly 10%.

Miners .AXMM were up 0.9%, dominated by gains in gold stocks, with sector heavyweights BHP Group (BHP) , Rio Tinto (RIO) and Fortescue Metals (FMG) all rising 1.3%-2.5%.

Among individual stocks, Qantas Airways (QAN) was among the top losers on the benchmark ASX 200 index, slumping about 8% on higher oil prices.

The country's top power producer AGL Energy (AGL) said on Monday it had rejected a sweetened A$8.25 apiece takeover bid from a Brookfield-led consortium. Its shares were down 0.1%.

In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index (nz50) fell nearly 0.9% to 12,027.97.