June 15 (Reuters) - Australian shares fell on Wednesday, following a weak finish on the Wall Street overnight, though the pace of sell-off was limited as investors awaited the outcome of the U.S. Federal Reserve meeting.

The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.5% in early trade, extending losses to a fourth straight session. The benchmark fell 3.6% on Tuesday.

Analysts largely expected a 50 basis point hike in the Fed meeting later in the day but views that a 75-bp hike was on the table have been growing after Friday's higher-than-expected U.S. retail inflation data for May.

Tech stocks fell 1.8% to lead losses among sub-indices. Megaport was the biggest tech decliner, falling 5.1%, followed by ASX-listed shares of Block Inc dropping 5.2%. Appen retreated 3%.

Iron ore prices also extended losses, as a fresh COVID-19 outbreak in China and fears of a possible lockdown clouded demand prospects in the world's top steel producer.

Miners eased 0.7%, with two of the big three miners, Rio Tinto and BHP Group losing 0.3% and 0.5%, respectively, while Fortescue rose 0.8%.

Financials bucked the trend to climb 0.7%, with the "Big Four" banks gaining between 0.2% and 0.7%.

Gold and energy stocks fell 1.3% and 1.1%, respectively, on fears that the Fed will surprise markets with a higher-than-expected interest rate hike.

Among energy stocks, heavyweights Woodside Energy and Whitehaven Coal fell 1% and 1.3%, respectively.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.4% to 10,640.94. (Reporting by Tejaswi Marthi in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)