(Reuters) - Australian shares closed flat on Thursday as uncertainty over the outcome of U.S.-China trade talks kept most investors on the sidelines, with small gains in financial stocks outweighing losses in resources.
The S&P/ASX 200 index <.AXJO> ended the day at 6,547.1. The benchmark lost 0.7% on Wednesday.
Sentiment had dampened following a report that the Chinese delegation was planning to cut short its Washington visit, but a separate report later in the day stating that both nations may resolve some of their disputes provided some relief to markets.
The likelihood of a partial deal remains a more likely scenario than a broad agreement as both economies show signs of slowing down.
Financial stocks <.AXFJ> tipped higher, helped by gains from Macquarie Group <MQG.AX> which rose 1%.
AMP Ltd <AMP.AX> dipped 0.3%. The company had said it will merge its banking and Australian wealth management units as part of a turnaround plan aimed at making the firm more customer-focused.
The Big Four banks were mixed, with Commonwealth Bank of Australia <CBA.AX> and National Australia Bank <NAB.AX> slightly down.
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group <ANZ.AX> and Westpac Banking Corp <WBC.AX> advanced 0.3% and 0.4%, respectively.
On the other hand, gold stocks were dragged lower by an 11.2% drop in Resolute Mining <RSG.AX> after a roaster at its gold mine in Mali was taken offline.
A 1.5% fall in shares of Newcrest Mining <NCM.AX> also weighed. Gold prices, however, touched one-week highs as investors globally flocked to the safety of bullion.
Iron ore futures fell on Thursday, leading to a 1.2% fall in Fortescue Metals Group <FMG.AX>. [IRONORE/]
Elsewhere, packaging maker Orora Ltd's <ORA.AX> shares jumped, closing nearly 14% higher, after announcing the sale of its local fibre materials business to Nippon Paper Industries <3863.T> for A$1.72 billion ($1.15 billion).
The sale would be the third-largest Australian acquisition by a Japanese company this year, according to Refinitiv data.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index <.NZ50> closed 0.5% lower, down for a second session, losing 54 points to finish at 10,886.73.
SKY Network Television <SKT.NZ> slid 20.7% to a record low after losing New Zealand cricket broadcasting rights to Spark New Zealand <SPK.NZ>.
(Reporting by Nikhil Kurian Nainan in Bengaluru; editing by Uttaresh.V)
