* ASX ends flat after record retail sales figures
* Miners end lower as iron futures sink
* Ramsay Health Care plans biggest capital raise since outbreak
* NZ ends lower for third straight session (Updates to close)
By Arpit Nayak
April 22 (Reuters) - Australian shares ended unchanged on Wednesday, rebounding from a 2.3% drop earlier in the session, as better-than-expected retail sales data helped counter losses in mining and energy stocks.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO ended 0.1 points lower at 5,221.20.
Australian retail sales saw a record jump in March due to virus-led panic buying, potentially staving off a contraction across the economy in the first quarter. the data provided a much-needed boost to the market, sales are likely to drop in April due to the enforcement of strict social distancing rules.
"Despite the surge, we continue to expect broader consumption to fall sharply in (the first half of 2020)," analysts at Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) said in a note.
Australia's largest supermarket operator Woolworths Group WOW.AX gained 0.8%, while retail chain operator Coles Group COL.AX rose 1.1%.
Healthcare stocks .AXHJ led gains to rise 1.3%, carried mostly by a 2.1% jump in shares of industry giant CSL CSL.AX .
Ramsay Health Care RHC.AX announced plans for the biggest capital raise by an Australian company since the outbreak, as Australian firms tap equity markets to shore up liquidity. gains were partly offset by a 2.3% drop in the heavyweight mining sub-index .AXMM as China iron ore futures DCIOcv1 plunged over worries about surplus supply. IRONORE/
Energy stocks .AXEJ recovered from a steep early sell-off but still ended 1.1% lower as the rout in oil prices continued and oversupply fears sent Brent crude LCOc1 to its lowest levels since 1999. O/R
Meanwhile, Australia's energy minister said the country would be first in line to buy oil and store it in the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve, calling it an opportunity to buy oil at very low prices. energy sector now has some major dysfunction to deal with," said Brad Smoling, managing director at Smoling Stockbroking. "Governments cannot magically produce oil storage facilities."
Financials .AXFJ clocked gains for the first time this week, with all the "Big Four" banks ending higher.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 lost 1.1% or 118.20 points to finish the session at 10,417.67, hurt by healthcare and utilities.