Dec 23 (Reuters) - Australian shares fell on Friday dragged by gold and tech stocks, after U.S. economic data showed the economy rebounded at a faster pace, fuelling worries that the Federal Reserve would stick to its aggressive interest rate hike path.

The S&P/ASX 200 index slumped 0.8% to 7,091.8 as of 2339 GMT and was set for a third weekly drop. The benchmark ended 0.5% higher on Thursday.

The losses were in tandem with overnight Wall Street declines after data showed that the final estimate of the third-quarter U.S. gross domestic product was for 3.2% annualised growth, above the previous estimate of 2.9%.

Australian gold stocks were down about 2% and among the top losers on the index, after a boost in the dollar and speculations of the Fed's keener path to fight inflation.

Sector giants Newcrest Mining and Evolution Mining lost between 2.4% to 3%, respectively.

Tech stocks fell 1.8%. ASX-listed shares of Block Inc gave up 3.5% to be the biggest laggards on the sub-index, followed by Megaport falling 3.1%.

Energy Stocks dropped 1.2% after oil fell by around $1 a barrel as rate hike fears outweigh tighter U.S. stockpiles.

Financials fell 0.8%, with the 'Big Four' banks losing between 0.5% and 1%.

Miners fell 0.4%, with sector majors Rio Tinto and BHP Group and Fortescue losing between 1% and 2.1%.

Meanwhile, Santos said it had agreed to extend the exclusivity period until April next year for Kumul Petroleum's deal to buy a 5% stake in PNG liquefied natural gas project from Santos.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.29% to 11,486.5600. (Reporting by Nausheen Thusoo in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)