(Reuters) - Australian shares ended slightly lower on Friday as weak commodity prices hit material stocks, tempering a rally in the healthcare sector which was buoyed by shares of biotherapeutics firm CSL Ltd <CSL.AX> after an earnings upgrade.
The S&P/ASX 200 index <.AXJO> ended 0.1 percent, or 6.9 points, lower at 6,087.4. The benchmark fell 0.5 percent this week, ending a six-week winning streak.
The healthcare index <.AXHJ> closed at a record-high led by CSL Ltd, which jumped 4.1 percent to an all-time high, after the biotherapeutics company raised its full-year net profit for the second time this year, underpinned by a severe influenza season in northern hemisphere.
The healthcare index rose 2.4 percent over the week.
Weak commodity prices weighed on material stocks, with major miners BHP <BHP.AX> and Rio Tinto <RIO.AX>, down over 1 percent each, among the biggest decliners on the benchmark.
Chinese steel futures fell to a one-week low on Friday, with supply rising and concerns of seasonal recovery in demand ending soon. [IRONORE/]
In the financial sector, lender Australia and New Zealand Banking Group <ANZ.AX> rose 0.6 percent while its 'Big Four' peers fell between 0.7 percent to 0.9 percent.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index <.NZ50> rose 0.6 percent, or 53.95 points, to 8,657.33. However, the benchmark fell slightly on the week after rising for the past three.
Auckland International Airport <AIA.NZ> was the biggest gainer on the index, rising 2.4 percent to a near nine month closing high.
Ryman Healthcare <RYM.NZ> closed 2.5 percent higher, after reporting a 14 percent jump in its full-year profit.
(Reporting by Sumeet Gaikwad in Bengaluru; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
