* Australian shares down 4.7 pct year to date
* Oil price at 11-year low
* Wall St hits 3-month low
SYDNEY/WELLINGTON, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Australian shares hit a three-week low on Thursday as weak domestic economic data, concerns about the slowing Chinese growth and a slump in the oil price all weighed on investors.
Financial stocks led the benchmark index lower for a fifth straight session after official data showed building approvals down nearly 13 percent for November, four times the rate of decline forecast by analysts. and energy stocks posted hefty losses as commodity prices hit multi-year lows, based on fears of a supply glut and faltering demand from No. 1 export partner China.
By 0133 GMT, the S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO was down 74.2 points or 1.5 percent to 5,048.9, its lowest level since Dec. 18. The benchmark has fallen every trading day in 2016 and is already down 4.7 percent for the year so far.
Shanghai shares .SSEC tanked 7 percent, while Wall St hit a three-month low.
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group ANZ.AX led the major lenders lower, down 2.6 percent, while Westpac Banking Corp WBC.AX dropped 2.1 percent, Commonwealth Bank of Australia CBA.AX fell 1.5 percent and National Australia Bank NAB.AX declined 2.4 percent.
Miners fell even more sharply, with BHP Billiton (L:BLT) BHP.AX , rival Rio Tinto (L:RIO) RIO.AX and iron producer Fortescue Metals Group FMG.AX all down 4.3 percent, while BHP spin-off South32 S32.AX dropped 5.3 percent.
Energy producers tracked the oil price to multi-year lows, with Origin Energy ORG.AX down 6.8 percent, Santos down 6 percent and Woodside Petroleum WPL.AX 3 percent lower.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 fell 0.4 percent or 26 points to 6,236.48 as sentiment remained dour following the gloomy Wall St session.
Investors are jittery about China and slower global growth as well as heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and the Korean Peninsula.
The biggest gainers were Steel & Tube STU.NZ , which added 2.7 percent and Trade Me TME.NZ , which was trading up 1.9 percent.
The biggest losers included Mighty River Power MRP.NZ , which shed 3.6 percent and Sky City SKC.NZ , which was down 1.6 percent.