By Geo Tharappel
Jan 20 (Reuters) - Australian shares fell on Friday, pressured by weakness on Wall Street as investors cut back on exposure to riskier assets before U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration, with financials and resources sectors leading losses in Sydney.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO fell 0.6 pct, or 35.284 points, to 5,656.9 by 0124 GMT. The benchmark is on track to fall 1.1 pct on the week.
"Markets are down on profit-taking and we have a negative lead from Wall Street... financials and resources have had a really strong run," said Bill Keenan, general manager of direct equities research at Lonsec.
"Markets are also waiting to see what comes out of Donald Trump's inaugural address."
The three major U.S stock indexes closed lower as investors backed off from risky assets ahead of Trump's inauguration on Friday, with financials weighing most on the S&P 500. .N
Trump's promises of tax cuts, bank deregulation and infrastructure spending had boosted U.S. markets after his November victory, especially financials, and this trickled down into the Australian markets.
The Australian benchmark has gained 10.4 percent since Nov 9 as of Thursday's close, while financials .AXFJ rose 14.5 percent and miners .AXMM added 11.8 percent.
Financials .AXFJ fell for a fourth straight session, down as much as 1.4 percent to its lowest in five weeks. The "Big Four" banks were at more than one-month low levels and were the main drags on the benchmark index.
Miners .AXMM dropped as much as 1.3 percent, their biggest intraday decline in four weeks, with base metals and iron ore prices falling. MET/L IRONORE/
BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) Ltd BHP.AX slipped over 1 percent, after it said on Thursday that its Samarco joint venture with Vale SA VALE5.SA agreed with Brazilian prosecutors on a June 30 deadline to settle billions of dollars in compensation claims stemming from an iron ore mine disaster in 2015. Tinto Ltd RIO.AX fell about 1.5 percent.
In contrast, Sydney Airport Holdings Ltd SYD.AX rose about 3 percent after it reported just over 7 percent rise in international passengers in December. Biotech giant CSL Ltd CSL.AX extended its rally, up 3 percent to an over 5-month highs after upgrading its annual profit forecast on Thursday. fourth-quarter GDP and December industrial production figures are expected later in the day. ECONASIA China is Australia's top trading partner, led by sizable earnings from resources exports.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 eased 0.1 percent or 9.22 points, to 7,053.14 at 0124 GMT, with losses led by financials and industrials.
NZ-listed stock of Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd ANZ.NZ was the worst performer, while Auckland International Airport Ltd AIA.NZ weighed most on the index.