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Australia shares drop to 2-year low on trade, global growth worry; NZ down

Published 10/12/2018, 05:22 pm
Updated 10/12/2018, 05:30 pm
© Reuters.  Australia shares drop to 2-year low on trade, global growth worry; NZ down

© Reuters. Australia shares drop to 2-year low on trade, global growth worry; NZ down

* U.S.-China trade tensions continue to weigh

* Weak U.S. and China figures add to investor worries

* NZ hurt by lower Q3 sales volumes

(Updates to close)

By Nikhil Subba

Dec 10 (Reuters) - Australian shares closed near two-year lows on Monday as investors turned risk-averse on concerns over U.S.-China trade tensions and slowing global growth, with the healthcare and financial indexes clocking the biggest losses.

The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO was lower for a second straight day, falling to its lowest since Dec. 2016, and closing at 5,552.5, down 2.3 points.

Investor apprehensions were stoked by U.S. officials saying they would move forward with their strategy to raise tariffs on China if the two nations do not come to an agreement during the 90-day negotiating period.

China's Huawei Technologies Co Ltd's HWT.UL chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou's arrest in Canada on Washington's directive last week added to fears the United States and China could fail to resolve their trade differences. over global economic growth also heightened after tepid U.S. jobs data on Friday, and China's far weaker-than-expected November exports and import numbers on the weekend, which revealed the extent of its worsening trade relations with the world's largest economy. is Australia's top trading partner and any changes in the economic fortunes there are likely to affect markets Down Under.

The 'Big Four' Australian lenders were in the red throughout the session with Westpac Banking Corp WBC.AX falling as much as 3.4 percent, while National Australian Bank NAB.AX fell 2.5 percent to their lowest since November and December, 2012, respectively.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia CBA.AX closed 3 percent lower at a near three-week low, while Australia and New Zealand Bank ANZ.AX fell 4.2 percent, the lowest since July 2016.

The healthcare sector .AXHJ fell 3.7 percent weighed by Cochlear COH.AX , which fell 5 percent to a 2-1/2-week low, and CSL Ltd CSL.AX which ended the session 3.95 percent lower.

Australia's energy index .AXEJ fell 0.8 percent, with WorleyParsons Ltd WOR.AX and Beach Energy Ltd BPT.AX being the top percentage losers and biggest drags.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 fell 1.2 percent to finish the session at 8,660.02, after the country's official data agency showed that third-quarter manufacturing sales volumes had slipped 1.6 percent. giant a2 Milk Co ATM.NZ was the top percentage loser, falling as much as about 5 percent to its lowest in slightly more than a week.

Volumes for dairy and meat products, the country's biggest export earners, fell 6.7 percent in the third quarter, data from Statistics New Zealand showed on Monday. (Editing by Jacqueline Wong)

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