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SYDNEY, May 18 (Reuters) - Australian shares fell on Wednesday, snapping two sessions of gains, as investors sold on revived expectations of a U.S. interest rate hike, while New Zealand stocks hit a record closing high. S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO dropped 39.7 points, or 0.7 percent, to 5,356.2. After one of its poorest starts to a calendar year in decades, the benchmark has been recovering since April to be up 1 percent so far in 2016.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 rose 7.7 points, or 0.1 percent, to finish the session at 6,982.6, a record closing high.