(Reuters) - Australian bank shares rallied after Australia and New Zealand Banking Group <ANZ.AX> doubled its share-buyback programme, but the overall market slipped as trade tensions between China and the United States damaged prospects for export-focussed firms.
The S&P/ASX 200 index <.AXJO> fell 0.1 percent or 6.9 points to close at 6,225.2, but still posted its best weekly performance since November 2016 with a gain of 2.2 percent.
South32 Ltd <S32.AX>, the world's largest manganese miner, declined 3.5 percent, while BHP <BHP.AX> slipped 0.7 percent.
Energy stocks also fell ahead of a key OPEC meeting to discuss output policy later in the day.
Woodside Petroleum Ltd <WPL.AX> dipped 1.5 percent, while Santos Ltd <STO.AX> dropped 3.4 percent.
But financials were bolstered by ANZ announcing its buyback programme would be doubled to A$3 billion ($2.22 billion).
Shares of ANZ firmed 2.9 percent to their highest since March 1, while Commonwealth Bank of Australia <CBA.AX> rose 1.3 percent to a more than seven-week high.
Across the Tasman sea, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index <.NZ50> added 0.59 points to finish the session at 8,999.37 and registered a decline of 0.1 percent for the week.
Energy stocks led the gains, with Z Energy Ltd <ZEL.NZ> rising 2 percent to a more than five-week high.
Conversely, consumer staples accounted for most of the losses, with dairy firm a2 Milk Company Ltd <ATM.NZ> dipping 1.7 percent.
(Reporting by Aditya Soni in Bengaluru; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
