(Reuters) - Australian shares slid on Monday due to weak commodity prices and a sell-off in bank stocks that at one point took the benchmark index to its lowest level in more than six weeks.
At the close of trade, the S&P/ASX 200 index <.AXJO> was down 34.74 points, or 0.6 percent, to 5,688.1 The benchmark fell 0.7 percent on Friday.
The subindex for energy stocks <.AXEJ> dropped 2.7 percent for the day, after being down 3.1 percent - its biggest intra-day fall in nearly 32 weeks.
Sentiment was hit by a consultancy's forecast of a rise in output by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Bank stocks accounted for about half of the benchmark's losses, with the 'Big Four' banks ending 0.5 to 1 percent lower.
Mining giants BHP Billiton <BHP.AX> and Rio Tinto <RIO.AX> closed off 0.4 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively, as iron ore prices fell for a third day amid oversupply concerns. [IRONORE/]
Bucking the trend, gold miners stepped up. Newcrest Mining Ltd <NCM.AX>, the biggest by market capitalisation, ended 0.9 percent higher after its biggest intra-day surge in almost 10 weeks put it 2.4 percent up. The surge came after Newcrest said it met its full-year output targets.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index <.NZ50> rose 11.43 points, or 0.1 percent, to finish at 7,682.29.
The bourse inched up as losses in healthcare and consumer discretionary stocks were outweighed by upbeat industrials.
Auckland International Airport <AIA.NZ> rose 1.7 percent to become the biggest percentage gainer on the benchmark after reporting a growth in total passengers for the year.
(Reporting by Hanna Paul; Editing by Richard Borsuk)
