Sydney, Sept 11 Australian shares finished 0.5 per cent lower in see-saw trading on Friday with broad-based losses as investors looked for direction ahead of next week’s US Federal Reserve meeting.
The S&P/ASX 200 index extended losses from Thursday, dropping 23.92 points to 5,071.1 points at close. It was up as much as 0.4 per cent in late morning trade.
Despite Friday’s losses, the index ended 0.6 per cent higher for the week. The previous week brought a 4.2 per cent drop, the biggest since June.
The benchmark has fallen 6.3 per cent this year and is trading around mid-2013 levels, largely due to losses in banks and miners.
New Zealand’s benchmark NZX 50 index fell 0.4 per cent or 22.76 points to finish the session at 5,648.23.