Australian shares down

Australian stocks ended a choppy session up 0.3 percent with a late lift from better-than-expected French and German GDP numbers giving some relief to investors who are nervous over the fate of global recovery. High volatility in commodities over fears about the strength of demand from China and the troubles in the euro zone have led to concerns over global growth hurting equities.
Australia main share index fell 0.7 percent for the week taking losses to the third straight week. Global miners BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto both rose over 0.4, while no.3 lender Westpac led top banks higher rising 0.5 percent. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index rose 15.3 points ending just above the 4,700 points support level at 4,711.4. The index dropped 1.8 percent on Thursday on signs China's demand for resources may be slackening, and weak local jobs numbers. Junior gold miner St Barbara shares dropped 5.5 percent to A$1.875 after it made a $349 million play for smaller rival Catalpa. New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index fell 0.12 percent to 3,535.79.