(Reuters) - Australian shares made up early losses to be little changed on Friday, finding support despite heightened fears for global trade after U.S. President Donald Trump surprised markets by imposing tariffs on Mexico.
Broader Asian shares were shaken and sovereign bonds surged as investors feared the shock move risked tipping the United States, and maybe the whole world, into recession. [MKTS/GLOB]
The S&P/ASX 200 index was 0.1%, or 8.9 points, lower at 6,383.2 by 0221 GMT. The benchmark was set for a fifth straight month in the black but on a weekly basis, was headed to lose almost all of last week's election surprise-driven gains.
"Australia is a developed nation next to the rest of Asia. When you've got Asian worries, emerging market worries, money tends to run out of China and emerging markets into Australia," said Mathan Somasundaram, market portfolio strategist at Blue Ocean Equities.
"They tend to buy the large caps."
Shares of the world's biggest miner BHP Group Ltd reversed course to gain up to 0.3%, even though overnight iron ore prices weakened. Fortescue Metals Group Ltd was also 0.6% higher. [IRONORE/]
Among other blue-chips, pharma heavyweights such as Cochlear Ltd and CSL Ltd rose between 0.8% and 1.4%.
Banking behemoth Commonwealth Bank of Australia rose as much as 0.4%.
Safe-haven gold stocks rose over 2%, supporting the mining index, with Newcrest Mining Ltd up as much as 2.4% and Evolution Mining Ltd hitting its best in over 3 months.
Gold miner St Barbara Ltd did not share in its peers' gains, falling as much as 8.8% after slashing 2019 gold production outlook.
Oil and gas units registered the steepest losses, with the sub-index declining as much as 2.4%. Santos Ltd, Woodside Petroleum Ltd and Oil Search Ltd all lost over 2%.
Elsewhere, shares of Crown Resorts buckled as much as 5.4% after casino mogul James Packer sold nearly half his stake in the firm to Hong Kong's Melco Resorts & Entertainment Ltd, dampening hopes for a full buyout.
The benchmark is on track to lose 1.2% this week, pulling back from an 11-year high scaled last week when investors cheered a surprise election victory by the ruling conservative Coalition.
Across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index rose 0.1% to 10,077.20 by 0215 GMT.
Auckland International Airport Ltd was the climber on the main index, gaining as much as 1.7%.
(Reporting by Devika Syamnath in Bengaluru; editing by Richard Pullin)
