Australian shares snap 7-session rally as gold stocks drag; NZ flat

Australian shares halted a seven-session winning streak on Thursday, tracking Wall Street's weak finish as stimulus talks dragged on, with domestic gold stocks weighing on the benchmark after bullion prices slumped.

US stocks pulled back from record levels on Wednesday as investors grew discouraged over the halting progress of economic stimulus talks, while a drop in Facebook shares provided an additional drag.

The S&P/ASX 200 index dropped up to 0.56%, retreating from a nine-month high marked in the previous session. Most major sub-indexes were trading in the red, while financials were flat.

Leading the decline, gold stocks tumbled as much as 3.6% to their lowest since Nov. 30, after prices fell 2% overnight due to more progress on the COVID-19 vaccine front.

Oceanagold Corp and Northern Star Resources were down around 5% each.

Local tech stocks slipped up to 2.1%, following a slump in big cap peers in the United States, where Facebook shares closed down nearly 2% after the US Federal Trade Commission and nearly every US state sued the company on accusations of breaking antitrust laws.

Appen and WiseTech Global were the biggest percentage losers, dropping up to 11.8% and 2.9%, respectively.

Bucking the sombre mood, shares of Link Administration Holdings rose 0.7% after the company said US software firm SS&C Technologies' $2.25 billion buyout offer was not compelling enough, but granted due diligence access to improve its offer.

Miners lost 0.9% after seven straight sessions of gains, while energy stocks fell 1.3%.

An inquiry panel said on Wednesday that Rio Tinto should pay restitution to Indigenous Australians affected by its destruction of two ancient rock shelters. Shares of the mining giant were trading flat.

In New Zealand, the benchmark flitted between positive and negative territories to trade down 0.01% by 1201 GMT. The index notched a record peak in the previous session.