* ASX benchmark closes at lowest since Dec 19

* Benchmark loses nearly 2% over two sessions

* Energy stocks buck losing trend, add 1.3%

Jan 4 (Reuters) - Australian shares settled lower on Thursday, with financials and miners leading the losses, after minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve's December monetary policy meeting prompted investors to dial back their expectations of an interest rate cut.

The S&P/ASX 200 index closed 0.4% lower at 7,494.10 points, its lowest closing level since Dec. 19.

After scaling a near record high on Tuesday, the benchmark index lost about 2% over the previous two sessions, losing steam from a rally gathered in the last two months of 2023.

"The fact that the stock market kicks off the new calendar year with a cautious and uneasy mood highlights the hard-to-ignore divergence between heightened uncertainties ahead and the goldilocks-driven rally before the close of the past year," said Hebe Chen, a market analyst at IG.

Meanwhile, minutes from the Fed's meeting showed participants agreed on keeping policy in a "restrictive stance" until inflation was under control, but also expressed concern on the risks of "overly restrictive" policy posing to the economy.

Chen said since neither the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) nor the U.S. Fed have shown confidence in answering how long it would take to bring back inflation to their respective target ranges, she expects an early rate cut in the first half of 2024 to be "quite unlikely".

Among stocks, heavyweight banking index closed 0.5% lower, extending losses into a second session. All the "Big Four" banks declined between 0.4% and 1%.

Miners ended 0.8% lower, with BHP Group and Rio Tinto losing 0.4% and 0.2%, respectively. Gold stocks fell 2.3%, with top miner Northern Star Resources shedding nearly 3%.

Bucking the trend, energy stocks closed 1.3% higher after oil prices rose in early trade on concerns over Middle Eastern supply.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index added 0.25% to finish the session at 11,759.11 points. (Reporting by Sherin Sunny in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)