Australian stocks broke a seven-day winning streak to close 0.7 percent weaker on Friday as Rio Tinto led mining stocks lower after investors punished the global miner for a smaller-than-expected share buyback. Shares in Rio Tinto, whose smaller than expected $5 billion share buyback disappointed some investors, closed 1.6 percent weaker at A$87.28, while BHP Billiton lost 0.8 percent to finish at A$46.38.
Newcrest Mining fell 1.4 percent to A$37.16 after Australia's top gold miner almost doubled underlying first-half profits due to higher gold production and appointed a new chief executive. On the positive side, Telstra firmed 1.04 percent to A$2.91 as investors digested its first-half results out Thursday and increase in subscriber numbers.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index slipped 33.534 points to close at 4,880.9. The index had closed up 0.2 percent on Thursday at its highest close since April 21. New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index gained 1.574 points to 3,367.442.