** Australian gold stocks .AXGD fall as much as 8.9% to hit their lowest level since January 16

** Gold slides more than 3% after posting its sharpest drop since 1983 on Friday after President Donald Trump picked former Fed governor and central‑bank critic Kevin Warsh as next Fed chair GOL/

** Sub-index currently down 5.4%, set for its biggest single-day percentage drop since October 22

** Brightstar Resources BTR.AX and Emerald Resources EMR.AX top losers on sub-index, down 21% and 10%, respectively

** AXGD logged its third straight monthly gain in January, adding nearly 11% in value during the month

** AXGD up 4.5% so far this year, outperforming a 1.2% jump in the broader benchmark .AXJO

(Reporting by Roushni Nair in Bengaluru)

((Roushni.nair@thomsonreuters.com))