** Australia's S&P/ASX 200 .AXJO index fall as much as 1.5% to 7,974.60 points, below the 8,000 level for the first time since Sept. 11

** The benchmark index was down for the fourth consecutive session mainly dragged by the financial index, but was also set for its third straight weekly drop .AX

** "The falls this week have been driven by several factors, including U.S. trade policy uncertainty at a time when fears of a looming U.S. recession are rising," said Tony Sycamore, a market analyst at IG

** The "Big Four" banks were down between 1% and 3.8%

** Heavyweight miners .AXMM were down 0.6%, with sector majors BHP Group BHP.AX and Fortescue FMG.AX trading 0.3% and 0.4% lower, respectively

** Technology stocks .AXIJ fell 2.4% to hit its lowest level since October 25, tracking Wall Street's overnight decline

** AXJO is down around 2.3% YTD, including today's moves

(Reporting by Adwitiya Srivastava in Bengaluru)

((Adwitiya.Srivastava@thomsonreuters.com))