Australian shares ease after best day in 4 months, energy stocks top losers

Australian shares slipped on Wednesday after posting their best session in nearly four months, as gold and energy stocks lost ground after underlying commodity prices fell overnight.

The S&P/ASX 200 index declined 0.5% to 7,303.20 by 1259 GMT, retreating after Tuesday's 1.5% jump.

Energy stocks shed 1.5% as crude oil prices fell overnight following a discussion by OPEC+ countries to raise production.

Sector heavyweights Santos and Woodside petroleum were the biggest drags on the sub-index, falling 2.4% and 1.5% respectively.

Ampol and Viva Energy were trading in negative territory even though the Australian parliament approved plans to pay them A$2.3 billion ($1.8 billion) to keep their struggling oil refineries open.

Gold stocks slid 0.5%, with bullion prices falling overnight as traders awaited more clarity from the US Federal Reserve regarding its monetary policy after the central bank struck a hawkish tone last week.

Sector heavyweight Northern Star Resources slipped 0.5%, while Ramelius Resources fell 3.2% and was the second-biggest loser on the sub-index.

Financial stocks were down 0.74%, with the 'big four' banks losing between 0.9% and 1.1%.

Tech stocks advanced 0.8%, led by a 1.3% gain in Afterpay Ltd and a 0.7% rise in Appen.

Elsewhere, Japan's Nikkei was up 0.29% at 28,968.43.

In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index was up 0.25% at 12,565.51.