Australian shares closed barely changed on Wednesday, with losses in the top miners offset by utilities, Westpac Banking Corp and top grocer Woolworths. The top miners gave up gains from the previous session, following a month in which they have outperformed the market, while defensives, which have lagged the market, picked up steam, helped in part by the Aussie dollar moving back toward parity with the US dollar.
Woolworths and top telecommunications company Telstra Corp climbed 1.1 percent, while Westpac rose 0.3 percent. On the negative side, global miner Rio Tinto fell 1 percent after announcing it would spend more than $1 billion on two of its Canadian aluminium smelters, while BHP Billiton ended down 0.7 percent. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index picked up less than 1 point to close at 4,767.8, according to the latest data. New Zealand's NZX-50 index gained 9 points, or 0.3 percent, to close at 3,297.9.