(Reuters) - Australian shares slipped on Friday, led down by financial and healthcare stocks, as investors booked profits for a second day following a robust rally.
Some investors were cautious after U.S. President Donald Trump, who met Chinese Vice Premier Liu He in Washington, said a trade deal with China is at least a month away, with some differences yet to be bridged.
The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.8 percent or 51.5 points to 6,181.3 at the close. On Thursday, which saw the end of a seven-session rally that reached a near seven-month high, the benchmark also dropped 0.8 percent.
For the week, the index barely moved.
"We had a good seven-day run and so there is a bit of profit taking there," said Mathan Somasundaram, market portfolio strategist at Blue Ocean Equities.
"Given the macro risks and geopolitics running around, you don't want to go in to the weekend with too much exposure."
Financial stocks declined 0.9 percent and had a fifth consecutive week of losses. Wealth manager AMP Ltd among Friday's top decliners, down 2.3 percent.
All of the Big Four banks lost ground. National Australia Bank Ltd shed 1.4 percent and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group 1.2 percent.
Healthcare stocks also came under pressure, with index heavyweight CSL Ltd losing 1.2 percent.
Sigma Healthcare Ltd lost 1.9 percent and Cochlear Ltd tumbled 2.1 percent.
Coal miners notched steep losses after Australian thermal coal prices suffered their biggest weekly fall since 2008, as demand plunges and worries persist over the strength of the global economy.
The largest independent coal producer Whitehaven Coal ended 3 percent lower, at its lowest close since December 2017, while New Hope Corporation Ltd fell 1.4 percent.
Mining stocks edged lower, with BHP Group slipping 0.5 percent. However, miners posted a weekly gain of 1.7 percent, supported by strong iron ore prices.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.4 percent or 35.55 points to finish at 9,857.05, but advanced 0.1 percent this week - its ninth straight weekly gain.
Retirement village operator Summerset Group Holdings Ltd was the top decliner, down 7 percent after quarterly sales declined and settlement times increased due to slowing property markets in Auckland and Christchurch.
(Reporting by Rashmi Ashok in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil; Editing by Richard Borsuk)
