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March 26 (Reuters) - Australian shares ended marginally lower on Tuesday as miners and financials dragged, although gains in energy and gold stocks helped cap losses, while investors looked towards a key domestic inflation print for cues on interest rate cuts.

The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO closed 0.4% lower at 7,780.20 points, logging its worst day in more than a week. The benchmark ended 0.5% higher on Monday.

Investors will be eyeing the domestic inflation print for February, which is expected on Wednesday, as well as the U.S. core personal consumption expenditure (PCE) data for the fourth quarter, due on Friday.

There is a possibility of a marginal uptick in Australia's inflation data, said Hebe Chen, an analyst at IG Markets.

"Any significant improvement may prompt the Reserve Bank of Australia to follow in the footsteps of the Federal Reserve...and even consider the prospect of rate cuts in the next meeting."

The RBA's next monetary policy meeting is on April 2.

Heavyweight miners .AXMM dropped 0.8% tracking a fall in iron ore prices. IRONORE/

Top miners Rio Tinto RIO.AX, BHP Group BHP.AXand Fortescue FMG.AX fell between 0.3% and 1.4%, respectively.

Rate-sensitive financials .AXFJ fell 0.2%, with the 'Big Four' banks trading in the red. They lost between 0.2% and 0.7%.

In contrast, energy .AXEJ and gold stocks .AXGD each gained 0.5% and 0.8%.

Oil and gas behemoth Woodside Energy WDS.AX and smaller peer Santos STO.AX advanced 1% and 0.4%, respectively.

Gold miners Northern Star Resources NST.AX and Evolution Mining EVN.AX climbed 1.6% and 0.6%, respectively.

Meanwhile, Australia's consumer sentiment eased from 20-month highs in March as worries about the economic outlook and family finances returned to darken the mood, a survey showed on Tuesday.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 fell 0.3% at 12,031.81 points at the close of trade, losing for the first time in six sessions.

Construction services provider Fletcher Building FBU.NZ and telecommunications firm Chorus CNU.NZ were the top losers on the benchmark, declining 2.4% and 2.2%, respectively.

(Reporting by Megha Rani in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema)

((Megha.Rani2@thomsonreuters.com;))

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