(Reuters) - Australian shares broke a five-session run of gains on Wednesday, tracking a fall in U.S. equities, while materials stocks fell in line with a dip in commodity prices.
Wall Street closed lower overnight after comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell revived fears about more interest-rate increases.
Iron ore futures and base metal prices dipped.
The S&P/ASX 200 index <.AXJO> fell 0.7 percent to 6,016.0 at the close of trade. The benchmark rose 0.2 percent on Tuesday.
Miner BHP Billiton <BHP.AX> pulled down the benchmark about 7 points, and dragged most heavily on the ASX 200. The stock lost about 2 percent in the day.
Materials stocks were the biggest drags, with the sector index <.AXMM> ending 1.4 percent lower.
Financials fell in with their U.S. peers as the S&P 500 Financial Sector index <.SPSY> shed nearly 1 percent overnight.
The finance sector <.AXFJ> ended 0.6 percent lower as the "Big Four" banks fell. Westpac Banking Corp <WBC.AX> ended 1.3 percent lower, pulling the index down nearly 5 points.
Harvey Norman Holdings <HVN.AX ended at a near 3-month low after its headline first-half profit fell more than 19 percent. The stock was the worst performer on the index.
Coal to retail conglomerate Wesfarmers <WES.AX> and oil explorer Woodside Petroleum <WPL.AX> provided little support to the index, ending more than 1 percent higher apiece.
In New Zealand, shares rose for a sixth consecutive session on climbing healthcare and consumer staples, although gains were checked by a number of falling sectors.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index <.NZ50> rose 0.16 percent or 13.44 points to finish the session at 8,373.82.
Fisher & Paykel Healthcare <FPH.NZ> and a2 Milk <ATM.NZ> were the biggest boosts to the index, collectively pushing it up about 24 points.
Subscription television provider Sky Network Television <SKT.NZ> weighed most heavily on the index, despite logging a 12 percent rise in its first-half 2018 net profit.
(Reporting by Ambar Warrick in Bengaluru; Editing by Eric Meijer)
