Australian shares retreated from a seven-year high on Thursday, as a patchy reporting season prompted investors to sell, while falls in key commodity prices overnight weighed down resources stocks.
After opening higher, the S&P/ASX 200 index soon lost ground to close down 11.5 points or 0.2 per cent at 5,904.2 points. The benchmark rose 1 per cent on Wednesday to its highest level since May 2008, and is up 9 per cent so far this year.
New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index fell 0.3 per cent or 15.1 points to finish the session at 5,726.2.