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By Adwitiya Srivastava

June 23 (Reuters) - Australian shares closed at their lowest level in nearly three weeks on Monday, weighed down by mining and industrial stocks, as risk sentiment took a hit after the U.S. attack on Iran's nuclear sites stirred fears of a broader conflict.

The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO fell 0.4% to close at 8,474.9 points, its lowest since early June. The benchmark is down for a fifth consecutive session.

Markets braced for Iran's response after the U.S. joined Israel in the biggest Western military action against the country since its 1979 Islamic Revolution.

"Escalating tensions in the Middle East and the subsequent U.S. involvement over the weekend has spurred heightened investor unrest heading into the new trading week," said Grady Wulff, a market analyst at Bell Direct.

The local bourse fell in line with other Asian stock markets. Mining stocks .AXMM dropped 1.5% to a more than two-month low. The world's largest listed miner BHP Group BHP.AX lost 1.6%, while Rio Tinto RIO.AX and Fortescue FMG.AX shed 0.3% and 1%, respectively.

Wulff said that miners are likely reacting to the expected decline in iron ore demand over the next few months.

Industrials .AXNJ fell around 1.4% with supply-chain logistics company Brambles BXB.AX and carrier Qantas Airways QAN.AX slipping 5% and 1.9%, respectively.

Consumer discretionary .AXDJ and staples .AXSJ lost 0.6% and 1%, respectively. Wulff attributed the declines to profit-taking in overheated or uncertainty-prone sectors.

Technology stocks .AXIJ retreated 0.6%, tracking declines in Wall Street peers on Friday. .N

Sector major WiseTech Global WTC.AX fell over 1%.

Bucking the trend, energy stocks .AXEJ gained 0.1% as oil prices jumped to a five-month high on growing supply concerns. O/R

Financials .AXFJ, which are usually stable in times of heightened uncertainty, added 0.4%, led by a 1% rise in the Commonwealth Bank of Australia CBA.AX.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 fell 0.3% to finish the session at 12,532.65 points.

(Reporting by Adwitiya Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore)

((Adwitiya.Srivastava@thomsonreuters.com))

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