(Corrects paragraph 8 to say mining index fell 0.5%, not 0.2%; and paragraph 9 to say "Big Four" banks fell 0.2-0.4%, not 0.3-0.6%)

Sept 6 (Reuters) - Australian shares reversed course to close lower on Tuesday after the country's central bank raised its cash rate by 50 basis points and signalled more tightening ahead to contain inflation.

The S&P/ASX 200 index ended 0.4% lower at 6,826.3 after rising as much as 0.5% earlier in the session. The benchmark rose 0.3% on Monday.

In its fifth hike since May, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) raised its cash rate to a seven-year high of 2.35%.

"The statement made it pretty clear that there are more hikes to come, which is not what equity bulls wanted to hear," said Matt Simpson, a senior market analyst at City Index.

"We expect another 50 bps hike in October...RBA tends to operate with a bit of a lag and we could expect a pause in November after they have a chance to see more inflation data coming through," said Kerry Craig, global market strategist at J.P. Morgan.

The RBA aims to keep inflation in a band of 2%-3% over time, and currently does not see it coming back to 3% until late 2024.

"When the reopening impulse start to come off - savings rate will come down and the drag from the housing market will create disinflationary pressures next year. We could expect inflation rate to fall backwards, but quite slowly," Craig added.

On the domestic bourse, heavyweight mining and financial stocks fell 0.5% and 0.4%, respectively, to lead losses on the benchmark.

The so-called "big four" banks fell between 0.2% and 0.4%.

Mining giants BHP Group and Rio Tinto fell 1.7% and 1.1%, respectively.

Gold stocks fell 0.6% despite strength in bullion prices.

Energy stocks rose 0.5% while technology stocks firmed 0.7%.

Meanwhile, data due on Wednesday are expected to show the country's gross domestic product rose around 1.0% in the second quarter, lifting annual growth to 3.5% from 3.3%.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index ended 0.2% lower at 11,599.23. (Reporting by Himanshi Akhand in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)