* Energy stocks hurt by drop in oil prices
* Financials fall 1% hours after posting best run in over a month
* NZ rises over 1% on consumer, utility strength
By Soumyajit Saha
Jan 5 (Reuters) - Australian shares traded lower on Tuesday, tracking a lacklustre performance on Wall Street, as tougher restrictions imposed to contain coronavirus clusters domestically and around the world dented investor sentiment.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO was down 0.47% at 6,684.2 points, as at 1131 GMT, dragged lower by energy and banking stocks. The benchmark ended 1.5% firmer on Monday.
Overnight, all three major indexes on Wall Street fell between 1.25% and 1.48%, ahead of crucial senatorial elections in Georgia state and amid a persistent surge in coronavirus cases. .N
Some investors are cautious about the pace of economic growth, while a new round of pandemic-related restrictions last month and a new variant of the coronavirus have cast a shadow on the outlook.
Down under, authorities continued to battle a virus outbreak in Sydney, even as Australia's largest city remained cut off from the rest of the country by state border closures and mandatory quarantine rules for travellers. sectors, energy stocks drove losses on the benchmark, hurt by a drop in oil prices after OPEC+ failed to decide on Monday whether to increase output next month. O/R
Brent crude LCOc1 futures fell 2.18%, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude CLc1 lost 0.57%.
Gas explorers Woodside Petroleum WPL.AX and Oil Search OSH.AX slid 1.6% and 2.7%, respectively.
Financials .AXFJ lost 1%, as the so-called "Big Four" lenders fell in the range of 0.7% to 1% a day after rallying to their best day since Nov. 25. the other hand, mining stocks .AXMM surged 1.9% on the back of soaring iron ore prices. Global miners BHP Group BHP.AX and Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) RIO.AX advanced 2.5% and 2.4%, respectively.
Ramelius Resources RMS.AX was among the top percentage gainers in the benchmark index, up 5.4% after the gold explorer provided a production update. number of issues on the ASX that advanced were 577, while 633 declined.
Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 rose 1.1%, helped by gains among consumer and utility stocks.