By Anusha Ravindranath
Oct 27 (Reuters) - Australian shares fell for a second straight session on Thursday after an overnight drop in oil prices hit energy stocks, while positive results from National Australia Bank NAB.AX did little to boost sentiment.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO fell 0.3 percent, or 15.6 points to 5359.798 by 0016 GMT. The benchmark dropped as much as 0.4 percent to hit its lowest in a month.
"Markets are marginally negative, coinciding with yesterday's sell-off, and due to some weakness in the energy sector tracking oil prices," said Ben Le Brun, an analyst with OptionsXpress. "There is still a 'glass half-empty' attitude adopted by investors at the moment," he added.
Oil settled down by more than 1 percent on Wednesday as traders remained doubtful that OPEC would be able to cut production come late November, and gold slipped. O/R GOL/
The energy index .AXEJ fell for a fifth straight session, dropping to its lowest in four weeks. Oil major Woodside Petroleum Ltd WPL.AX hit a four-week low while its peer Oil Search Ltd OSH.AX dropped as much as 2.5 percent.
Gold miners followed suit, with Newcrest Mining Ltd NCM.AX falling 0.73 percent and Northern Star Resources Ltd NST.AX shedding 1.2 percent. The benchmark index .AXGD slipped 1.3 percent in early trade.
On the upside, financials saw a relief rally after National Australia Bank, Australia's fourth-largest bank by market value, reported a 4 percent rise in annual cash profit, beating analysts' expectations. shares rose as much as 2.2 percent, its biggest percentage gain in two months.
Iron-ore mining giants climbed after surging coal prices lifted demand for higher-grade iron ore. O/R Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) Ltd RIO.AX rallied for a fourth straight session, hitting a one-year high, while BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) Ltd BHP.AX rose as much as 1.1 percent.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 rebounded after closing at its lowest in three months the previous day. The index rose 0.51 percent, or 34.8 points to 6896.2 by 0024 GMT.
The rally was driven by industrials and utilities, with shares of Auckland International Airport Ltd AIA.NZ posting their biggest percentage rise in more than two weeks and electricity retailer Contact Energy Ltd CEN.NZ gaining 0.8 percent. For more individual stocks activity click on STXBZ