Australian shares were little changed on Friday but posted their third straight month of gains, while New Zealand's benchmark stock index capped its strongest showing in nine months. Weaker commodity prices hemmed in Australia's S&P/ASX 200, which ended up a marginal 2.619 points, or 0.04 percent, at 5,924.1. Lower oil, gold and metal prices hurt the overall metal index, which ended down 0.4 percent.
But gains in National Australia Bank and ANZ Banking helped offset some of the pressure on the benchmark index as investors positioned themselves ahead of key bank earnings next week. Healthcare company CSL Ltd and toll road operator Transurban Group were among the top gainers on the benchmark index. The index rose 1.2 percent for the week and 1 percent for the month of April. New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index rose 0.3 percent, or 24.140 points, to 7,378.750. The index rose 2.5 percent for both the week and the month, its biggest gain since July 2016.
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