* Miners climb 1.8% on China demand hopes
* Gold stocks fall 2.1%, financials down 0.6%
Oct 25 (Reuters) - Australian shares surrendered early gains on Wednesday to close little changed, as surprisingly strong third-quarter inflation raised odds of an interest rate hike as early as next month.
The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 2.6 points to 6,854.3, with losses in gold stocks and financials outweighing gains in miners.
Data showed the consumer price index (CPI) rose 1.2% in the third quarter, above market forecasts of 1.1% and up from a 0.8% increase in the previous quarter.
"I think the CPI reading undoubtedly moves the dial for the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) towards a hike rather than sort of keeping on pause as they have done for the last few months," said Josh Gilbert, a market analyst at eToro.
UBS expects the Australian central bank to hike the cash rate by 25 basis points, to 4.35%, likely in November. Analysts at National Australia Bank continue to expect the RBA to hike rates in November.
In Sydney, heavyweight miners jumped 1.8% as Dalian iron ore futures hit five-week highs, buoyed by China's approval of additional fiscal measures to spur economic growth.
Sector majors BHP Group and Rio Tinto gained 2.6% and 2.4%, respectively.
Gold stocks declined 2.1% as bullion's safe-haven demand showed signs of fatigue after global leaders sought to prevent the Israel-Hamas war from spreading.
Newcrest Mining, the country's largest gold miner, lost 1.6%.
Financials slipped 0.6%, with the country's so-called "big four" banks losing between 0.4% and 1.3%.
Energy stocks inched down 0.2%, with oil prices trading little changed after three days of falls.
Tech stocks eased 0.1%, while healthcare stocks lost 0.7%.
In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.7% to 10,844.04. (Reporting by Ayushman Ojha; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)