By Pauline Askin and Charlotte Greenfield
SYDNEY/WELLINGTON, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Australian shares fell 1.26 percent on Thursday, a third consecutive declining day, dragged by weakness in oil prices, although the materials sector lent some support with a rise in iron ore prices propping up the index.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO fell 63.15 points to 5017.3 by 0203 GMT. The benchmark shed 0.55 percent on Wednesday.
The index is on track to post a third consecutive week of losses.
"I think it was a particularly negative session in the U.S. although there wasn't any major news released. Technically the S&P500 closed below the 200-day moving average and the 50-day moving average so it's looking quite vulnerable at this stage," said Julia Lee, equities analyst at Bell Direct.
Rio Tinto (L:RIO) RIO.AX rose up 2.31 percent while shares in BHP Billiton (L:BLT) BHP.AX gained 1.57 percent.
Shares were unaffected by protesters chaining themselves to equipment to disrupt exports from Australia's largest coal terminals. ID:nL3N13Y5RY
The "Big Four" banks were lower with National Australia Bank NAB.AX falling 3.07 percent, while Westpac Bank WBC.AX , ANZ ANZ.AX and Commonwealth Bank CBA.AX were all down more than 2 percent.
"Going into the second half of the month is usually a more positive time for the Australian market, when we see three of the Big Four banks paying dividends.
"The next couple of weeks we might see a bit of support from dividend payments hitting bank accounts from the big banks", Lee said.
Shares in payments firm Mobile Embrace Ltd MBE.AX soared to a 15-year high after securing a deal with Asian telecommunications group Axiata Group Bhd AXIA.KL . ID:nL3N13Y5YS
Asian stocks slipped as weak oil prices continued to feed global growth worries. Wall Street ended lower after a choppy session as oil resumed its decline. ID:nL1N13Y2X7
For more individual stocks activity click on STXBZ
New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index .NZ50 fell 0.27 percent or 16.62 points to 6,036.93 on Thursday.
Coats Group COA.NZ led losses, falling 2.59 percent, continuing to fall since the UK-listed threadmaker announced last month it was planning to de-list from the New Zealand and Australian stock exchanges next year.
Casino operator Sky City SKC.NZ fell 1.39 percent and milk processor A2 Milk
Energy companies gained with Vector VCT.NZ rising 0.95 percent, Meridian Energy MEL.NZ up 0.67 percent and Genesis Energy GNE.NZ gaining 0.79 percent.