Jan 19 (Reuters) - Australian shares fell on Wednesday to their lowest close in a month, weighed down by technology stocks after a spike in U.S. Treasury yields on prospects of aggressive interest rate hikes sent Wall Street peers lower overnight. The S&P/ASX 200 (.AXJO) closed 1% lower at 7,332.50 in its second straight session of fall, with tech stocks (.AXIJ) shedding 2.6% to hit their lowest in nearly eight months. Buy now, pay later firm Afterpay (APT.AX) slid 1.2%, while Xero (XRO.AX) and WiseTech Global (WTC.AX) retreated 2.4% and 4.2%, respectively. Brad Smoling, managing director of Smoling Stockbroking, said a subdued start to the U.S. earnings season also weighed on sentiment. "Rates are really high on U.S. Treasury yields, sending a lot of nerves in the market," he said. Among other sectors, financials (.AXFJ) dropped 1.4%, after authorities said Australia should brace for more COVID-19 deaths for the next few weeks, as record infections fuelled by the Omicron outbreak overwhelmed health systems. read more Surveys released this week showed Australian consumer sentiment was hit in January as a surge in coronavirus cases filled up hospitals and curbed spending. read more Weak bullion prices reduced the appeal of gold stocks, sending the sectoral sub-index (.AXGD) down 1.9%. Gold majors Newcrest Mining (NCM.AX) and Northern Star Resources (NST.AX) were down 0.9% and 3.4%, respectively. Energy stocks (.AXEJ) rose 0.6% as oil prices rallied to a seven-year high amid tight supply outlook and geopolitical troubles in Russia and the United Arab Emirates. Oil and gas explorers Woodside Petroleum (WPL.AX) and Santos (STO.AX) rose 0.9% and 2%, respectively. Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand"s S&P/NZX 50 (.NZ50) fell 1.6% to 12,612.31.