Australian shares skid on weak U.S. consumer data; gold stocks drop

June 29 (Reuters) - Australian shares fell on Wednesday, with selling seen across most sub-sectors, as a drop in June U.S. consumer confidence dampened investor sentiment amid a slew of interest-rate hikes globally and recession worries.

Data released on Tuesday morning showed the U.S. consumer confidence index dropping to the lowest since February 2021, with near-term expectations reaching their most pessimistic level in nearly a decade.

That dragged the S&P/ASX 200 index down 1.2% to 6,681.1 by 0053 GMT, and putting it on track to snap a four-day winning streak. The benchmark had added 0.9% in the previous session.

Leading losses, gold stocks tumbled as much as 4.3% — their lowest since March 2020 — due to weak bullion prices.

Newcrest Mining skidded 3.1%, and Northern Star Resources fell 4.6%.

Technology stocks gave up 2.5%, mirroring losses among Wall Street peers, with all three U.S. indexes on course to notch two straight quarterly declines for the first time since 2015.

ASX-listed shares of Block Inc dropped 6.5%, while accounting software producer Xero erased 5%.

Tech firm Tyro Payments lost as much as 20.5%, hitting a record low after the company said its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Robert Cooke is stepping down.

Separately, casino operator Star Entertainment said it appointed Cooke as its CEO. Its shares jumped more than 1.5%.

Lithium miner Liontown Resources climbed 17.4% to top gains on ASX 200 after saying it signed a lithium supply deal with Ford Motor Co.

Bucking the sombre mood, however, energy stocks climbed 0.7% on upbeat oil prices. Woodside Energy and Santos added 1.7% and 0.7%, respectively.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index slid 1% to 10910.22, snapping a three-day winning streak. (Reporting by Roushni Nair in Bengaluru; editing by Uttaresh.V)