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Oct 21 (Reuters) - Australian shares closed lower on Friday, dragged down by healthcare stocks after Healthscope Ltd HSO.AX tumbled over a profit warning, while a stronger dollar weighed on oil prices, pulling down energy shares.
The dollar rose to seven-month highs against a basket of currencies, as the euro fell to its lowest since March after the European Central Bank shot down talk it was contemplating tapering its monetary easing. S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO closed 0.2 percent lower at 5,430.3. The index fell for the second consecutive week, losing 0.1 percent this week.
Healthscope closed almost 19 percent lower, at an eight-month low, after the company said it experienced slower-than-expected revenue growth in hospitals in the first quarter. (nL4N1CQ5OX)
Gains in financial stocks helped the benchmark in reversing some of the losses during early trade, with Westpac Banking Corp WBC.AX and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd ANZ.AX gaining 0.9 and 0.8 pct, respectively.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 ended 0.2 percent lower at 6958.4. The index lost 2.5 percent this week, in third straight week of losses.
Consumer cyclicals were the biggest drag on the index, with Skycity Entertainment Group Ltd SKC.NZ falling almost 12 percent to its lowest in a year, after warning that crackdown on gaming by Chinese authorities would hurt its ability to attract Chinese VIP gamblers. Health OHE.NZ , the top gainer on the benchmark, closed 3.3 percent higher, its biggest intra-day percentage gain in three weeks.