April 12 (Reuters) - Australian shares slipped on Tuesday, as investors tracked cues from a weak overnight session on Wall Street, while a drop in commodity prices also pulled down the resource-heavy bourse.
The S&P/ASX 200 index was down 0.42% at 7,453.7 points, as of 0105 GMT.
Energy stocks fell 1.1%, tracking an overnight drop in oil prices, as traders fret that the COVID-19 surge will cut demand in China and as International Energy Agency countries plan to release record volumes of oil from strategic stocks.
Sector heavyweights Woodside Petroleum and Santos skidded 0.6% each.
Raw material prices also dropped as China's stringent curbs dented market sentiment and fuelled worries that the recovery momentum in the world's second-largest economy might lose steam.
Miners shed 0.5% on the back of weaker iron ore prices, with giants such as Newcrest Mining and BHP sinking 1.6% and 0.3%, respectively.
Bucking the sombre mood in the commodities sector, shares of Lynas Rare Earth, the world's largest producer of rare-earths outside China, jumped more than 2% after posting record quarterly revenue as demand for specialized metals surged.
Financials lost 0.4%, weighed down by poor performances in the "Big Four" banks.
National Australia Bank, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Westpac Banking Corp fell between 0.1% and 0.8%.
Shares of Pendal shed 0.9% after the Australian investment manager said asset manager Perpetual's A$2.40 billion takeover offer "significantly undervalued" it.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.2% to 11,903.9 points, ahead of the country's central bank rate decision on Wednesday.
New Zealand's central bank will likely opt for a modest 25 basis point interest rate hike, but is set to raise by slightly more this year as a whole than previously thought, a Reuters poll of economists found.
(Reporting by Roushni Nair in Bangalore; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
