Australian shares extend losses as Fed stance spooks investors

Nov 4 (Reuters) - Australian shares extended their losses on Friday, led by financials, as global markets remained under pressure from a hawkish U.S. central bank, although domestic miners edged higher on the back of upbeat iron ore prices.

The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO was down 0.3% at 6386.00 points, as of 2358 GMT, but was set for a weekly climb of 1%, if gains hold. The benchmark ended 1.8% lower on Thursday.

Wall Street fell for a fourth straight day as economic data failed to alter expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve would soon back down from its aggressive rate-hike cycle. .N

In the local market, heavyweight Australian financials .AXFJ shed about a percent, with the "Big Four" banks dropping as much as 1.2%.