Australia shares hurt by fears of an imminent trade war; local GDP in focus

March 5 (Reuters) - Australian shares fell for a second consecutive session on Wednesday as fears of an impending trade war ate into investors' risk appetite, while local traders await gross domestic product data for Australia due later in the day.

The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO fell 0.8% to 8,133.5 points by 1149 GMT, hitting its lowest level since December 23. The benchmark dropped 0.6% on Tuesday.

Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) Deputy Governor, Andrew Hauser, said that if U.S. tariffs on China trigger a global trade war, Australia will be negatively impacted, because the country is "heavily integrated into, and reliant on" the global economy, and particularly China.

U.S. President Donald Trump's 25% tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada, along with doubled duties on Chinese goods, took effect on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, local investors await key gross domestic product (GDP) data for the fourth quarter, slated to be released later in the day, to gain clearer insight into the country's economic health.

On Tuesday, data showed that Australian retail sales posted a small gain in January, signalling a continued uptick in consumer spending.

On the Sydney bourse, financial stocks .AXFJ lost 1.1% to hit their lowest level since February 24 and led losses on the benchmark, the "big four" lenders of the country fell between 0.9% and 1.2%.

Energy stocks .AXEJ added to the losses, dropping 0.6% as oil prices settled close to multi-month lows after reports of OPEC+ plans to proceed with output increases in April. O/R

Sector major Woodside Energy WDS.AX lost 0.4%, while smaller rival Santos STO.AX shed 0.5%.

Technology stocks .AXIJ fell 0.6%, tracking Wall Street peers. .N

Healthcare stocks .AXHJ and real estate stocks .AXRE dropped 0.5% and 0.4%, respectively, in line with the broader index.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 was down for a third consecutive session, falling 0.7% to 12,379.01 points.

For more information on DIARIES & DATA: U.S. earnings diary  RESF/US   Wall Street Week Ahead   .N/O Global Economy Week Ahead DATA/ ................................................................ For latest top breaking news across all markets          NEWS1