Australian shares dipped 0.3 percent on Friday as investors slipped out of equities on the back of rising bond yields, though an uptick among recently-routed resource stocks kept a lid on losses. The S&P/ASX 200 index lost 15 points to 5,531.1 at the close of trade, and was 1.2 percent lower this week, its biggest weekly drop in five weeks. The benchmark index has fallen seven out of the past 10 sessions.
New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index lost 0.7 percent or 38.4 points to finish the session at 5,224. Commonwealth Bank of Australia dipped 0.6 percent, while Westpac Banking Corp lost 0.7 percent. Mid-tier bank Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Ltd dropped 1.6 percent and Bank of Queensland Ltd 1.4 percent.
"All the yield-proxy players have not done well as bond yields have risen," said Damien Boey, equity strategist at Credit Suisse. "Anything that's offering low yield at the moment is getting hit a bit." Global miners BHP Billiton Ltd and Rio Tinto Ltd added 0.5 percent and 0.2 percent, though gains were capped as the commodity needed to make steel fell to its lowest since September 2009. Australia's biggest gold miner Newcrest Mining Ltd edged 0.2 percent higher.
In September, BHP has skid 2.7 percent while Rio Tinto is down 1.5 percent. Myer Holdings Ltd tumbled 5.8 percent on Friday, continuing the previous session's slump after Australia's largest department store operator posted a 22.6 percent fall in annual profit.
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