May 24 (Reuters) - Australian shares fell on Wednesday, led by banks, as a lack of progress in U.S. debt ceiling talks dented investor sentiment, while New Zealand stocks declined ahead of a central bank policy decision.

The S&P/ASX 200 index in Australia slid 0.3% to 7,236.3 by 0049 GMT and was on track for a third consecutive session of losses. The benchmark fell 0.05% on Tuesday.

A new round of talks between U.S. President Joe Biden's aides and congressional Republicans ended on Tuesday with no signs of progress as the deadline to raise the government's $31.4 trillion borrowing limit or risk default ticked closer.

Meanwhile, hawkish comments from U.S. Federal Reserve policy makers also weighed on risk appetite.

Investors are awaiting minutes of the Fed's May 2-3 meeting, due later in the day, for any further signs of whether the central bank is likely to pause its rate hikes next month.

In Sydney, financials dropped 0.6%. The so-called "Big Four" banks retreated between 0.2% and 0.7%.

Healthcare and real estate stocks shed 0.6% and 0.2%, respectively. Technology stocks declined 0.1%, tracking overnight losses on Wall Street.

Gold stocks rebounded 1.1% after a six-day losing streak, as risk-averse investors turned to safe-haven bullion amid U.S. debt ceiling uncertainties.

Newcrest Mining rose 1% and Northern Star Resources gained 0.8%.

Energy stocks advanced 0.5% as oil prices rose on concerns over tightening supply.

Sector majors Santos rose 0.8% and Woodside Energy added 1%.

Among individual stocks, Webjet jumped 5.2% to become the top gainer on the benchmark stock index after the online booking platform swung to annual profit and reported a more than two-fold jump in revenue.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index declined 0.6% to 11,872.12.

According to a Reuters Poll, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand is expected to raise the key interest rate by 25 basis points to 5.50% later in the day.

($1 = 1.4743 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Poonam Behura; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)