Australia shares post best performance in three years; New Zealand ends 2016 well up

Australian shares closed lower on Friday, but ended having had their best quarter this year and their best yearly run since 2013. The S&P/ASX 200 index closed down 0.58 percent, or 33.27 points, at 5,665.8 on Friday, pulled down by poor performances in financial and basic material stocks. The benchmark financial index fell 1.1 percent on Friday as US and European bank shares eased on profit taking with the "Big Four" banks losing over a percent each.
On the year, the index gained 4.2 percent, as Australia and New Zealand Bank shares added 9.2 percent, while National Australia Bank shares were up 5.5 percent, both posting their best yearly performance since 2013. However, shares in Australia's biggest bank by market capitalisation, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, lost 3.7 percent this year, the biggest yearly loss in five years, while Westpac Banking shares lost nearly three percent, falling after four straight gaining years. New Zealand's S&P/NZX 50 index closed the session 0.16 percent lower, or 11.06 points, at 6,881.22, with the decline being led by financials and industrials.