By Sneha Kumar

May 9 (Reuters) -Australian shares fell on Thursday, pulled down by heavyweight financials, after Commonwealth Bank of Australia - the country's largest bank - slumped following a decline in its quarterly profit.

The S&P/ASX 200 .AXJO snapped a five-day winning streak to close 1.1% lower at 7,721.6 points. The benchmark rose 0.1% on Wednesday.

Market sentiment is mixed, with investors cautious about the outlook for interest rates, said Damian Rooney, director of equity sales at Argonaut, adding that CBA's profit fall also weighed.

Financials .AXFJ led sectoral losses, down 1.7%, snapping a five-day winning run with the top four banks ending lower.

CBA CBA.AX, the country's largest lender, lost over 2% after its quarterly profit fell amid stiff competition and inflationary pressures.

Westpac Corp WBC.AX, Australia's third-biggest lender, saw its worst day in nearly two years after trading ex-dividend.

Miners .AXMM, the second-heaviest sector, fell 0.6% as easing demand in top consumer China pushed iron ore prices down. IRONORE/

Behemoths BHP Group BHP.AX and Fortescue FMG.AX lost 0.7% and 0.9%, respectively.

Trading updates from mid-cap discretionary retailers signalled a cutback in spending and demand among customers, pushing shares of JB Hi-Fi JBH.AX and Baby Bunting Group BBN.AX 4.5% and 23.4% lower.

JB Hi-Fi was among the top losers on the benchmark.

Deflation in household appliances and consumer electronics indicates intense competition amid weak consumer demand, Morningstar said in a note.

In contrast, energy stocks .AXEJ added 0.6% as oil prices inched up on higher demand expectations from top crude consumers, the U.S. and China. O/R

Sector majors Woodside Energy WDS.AX and Santos STO.AX climbed 0.8% and 0.9%, respectively.

Meanwhile, the Labour government laid out strategies to reduce Australia's emissions along with encouraging the development of new gas fields.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 fell 0.3% to 11,746.58 points.

Reporting by Sneha Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema

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