(Reuters) - Australian shares closed lower on Monday, dragged down by healthcare and energy stocks, although financials recovered slightly towards the end of trade.
The S&P/ASX 200 index <.AXJO> fell 0.5 percent or 31.1 points to 5818.1 at the close of trade. The benchmark rose slightly on Friday.
Healthcare stocks <.AXHJ> fell about 2.2 percent as investors factored in recent strength in the Australian dollar <AUD=>. Healthcare stocks do most of their business outside of Australia, and any strength in the domestic currency weighs on their turnover.
Hearing devices maker Cochlear <COH.AX> ended about 3.8 percent lower after a U.S. district court awarded $268.1 million in damages against the company in a patent infringement lawsuit. The stock led declines on the healthcare index.
Energy stocks <.AXEJ> ended lower for a third straight session, as oil prices fell due to U.S. sanctions against Iran being softened by waivers for a number of major buyers.
Oil and gas explorers Beach Energy <BPT.AX> and Oil Search <OSH.AX> shed about 2.6 percent and 1.3 percent respectively, with Beach serving as the biggest intraday loser in the sector.
Index heavyweight BHP <BHP.AX> also ended about 1.2 percent lower, tracking recent weakness in commodity prices.
On the other hand, financial stocks <.AXFJ> staged a late recovery and ended 0.2 percent higher, as a decline in the country's largest bank <CBA.AX> was counterbalanced by gains in the other three.
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group <ANZ.AX> ended 1.1 percent higher after it announced pay cuts of about 20 percent for its top executives.
Westpac Banking Corp <WBC.AX> closed around 0.6 percent higher despite its annual cash earnings missing expectations.
Meanwhile, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index <.NZ50> fell 0.6 percent or 56.82 points to finish the session at 8778.78, as healthcare and consumer stocks weighed.
Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corp <FPH.NZ> ended about 2.5 percent lower, while a2 Milk Company <ATM.NZ> shed 5.1 percent.
(Reporting by Ambar Warrick in Bengaluru; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
