INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Aussie shares ended lower on Friday as financials and health care stocks weighed on the benchmark, with investors cautious on the last
trading day of the fiscal year
The SP/ASX 200 index fell 20.8 points to close at 6,194.6
The benchmark gained over 3 per cent in June
The financial index, the largest sector on the board, was the biggest drag on the benchmark with three of the "Big Four" banks trading lower
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd closed 1.5 per cent lower after Chairman David Gonski said the bank expected "difficult trading
conditions in foreseeable future"
ANZ was the biggest drag on the index.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the country's biggest bank by market capitalisation, slipped 0.5 per
cent after it said it would slash more than A$60 million ($44.36 million) in senior executive pay as part of a remedial plan agreed with the
Australian banking regulator.
A damaging public inquiry into financial sector misconduct has seen investors wipe A$32 billion from the
market capitalisation of Australia's financial institutions.
The health care index closed lower for a fifth straight session, erasing much
of last week's strong gains
The index has risen for the past three months.
Amidst souring global sentiment, healthcare stocks, which earn a substantial portion of their
income in the United States, rose over 5 per cent last week on a weaker Australian dollar.
Biotherapeutics company CSL Ltd dropped 1.1 per
cent in heavy trade.
Meanwhile, miner BHP was the biggest boost to the benchmark, hitting a six-week high during the session
The stock rose 4.3 per cent over the week.
Iron ore on the Dalian Commodity Exchange was up 1.7 per cent as at 0650 GMT, boosting investor
appetite for Australian miners.
Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand's benchmark SP/NZX 50 index fell 0.62 per cent or 55.66 points to finish
However, the index gained 3.3 per cent this month, its third consecutive monthly rise.
Consumer staples and industrial stocks weighed on the
benchmark with A2 Milk Ltd declining 1.7 percent
Auckland International Airport was right behind the dairy producer, falling 1.3 percent.
($1 = 1.3526 Australian dollars)
