(Reuters) - Australian shares ended lower on Friday, snapping four days of gains after briefly popping above key resistance, as mining stocks were hit by softer base metal prices.
The S&P/ASX 200 index <.AXJO> fell 0.4 percent, or 20.70 points, to 5,774.60 at the close of trade. The index rose above the important 5,800-point resistance level at around 0100 GMT, before steadily edging lower.
Despite the day's losses, the index rose 2.8 percent for the week. The benchmark was up 0.3 percent on Thursday.
The metals and mining index <.AXMM> underpinned losses, shedding nearly 1 percent at the close, after iron-ore prices slipped about 0.3 percent on demand concerns. [IRONORE/]
The world's biggest-listed miner BHP Group <BHP.AX> shed 1.1 percent, while rival Rio Tinto Ltd <RIO.AX> dropped 0.6 percent.
Financial stocks <.AXFJ> also ended lower, with Commonwealth Bank of Australia <CBA.AX> down 1.1 percent and Westpac Banking Corp <WBC.AX> off about 1 percent.
Financials snapped four consecutive winning sessions, but they notched a weekly gain of more than 2 percent.
Also in the red were energy stocks <.AXEJ> which snapped six straight sessions of gains to end lower. Their rally was cut short after oil prices slipped amid concerns over the outlook for the global economy. [O/R]
Despite the lacklustre performance, the energy sub-index posted a weekly gain of 5.6 percent, its best week since April 2016. Woodside Petroleum Ltd <WPL.AX> edged lower while Beach Energy Ltd <BPT.AX> shed 0.3 percent.
Healthcare stocks <.AXHJ> also slipped, dragged by losses in the stock of heavyweight CSL Ltd <CSL.AX> and Ramsay Health Care Ltd <RHC.AX> by 0.7 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively.
Gold stocks <.AXGD> also lost their sheen, with Saracen Mineral Holdings <SAR.AX> shedding 2.3 percent and Newcrest Mining Ltd <NCM.AX> down about 0.5 percent.
Meanwhile, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index <.NZ50> rose 40.42 points, or 0.5 percent, to finish the session at 8,959.58.
Dairy firm Synlait Milk Ltd <SML.NZ> rose 0.8 percent while Sky Network Television Ltd <SKT.AX> gained 3.1 percent.
(Reporting by Rashmi Ashok in Bengaluru; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)
