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SYDNEY, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Australian shares recovered from an early sell-off and ended higher on Friday as profit-takers bought cheap bank stocks, while port and rail company Asciano AIO.AX jumped on heightened takeover interest. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N1311C0
After slumping as much as 0.8 percent in early trading, the S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO reversed course to close up 22.0 points or 0.4 percent at 5,215.0. For the week, the benchmark fell 0.5 percent.
New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index .NZ50 fell 3.9 points or 0.1 percent to finish the session at 6,069.7. The index was up 1.3 percent for the week.