Jan 3 (Reuters) - Australian shares face a cautious start to the new year, following a weak lead from Wall Street last Friday, with trading likely to be thin on Tuesday as many investors remain off work for their summer holidays.
U.S. stocks slumped on the last trading day of the year, led down by Apple AAPL.O and other big tech stocks. In subdued holiday trading, the S&P 500 declined for a third consecutive session. .N
The Australian benchmark index .AXJO climbed 7 percent in 2016, its best yearly performance since 2013, as gains in most commodity prices powered a bull run among miners.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 will be shut for a public holiday and will re-open on Wednesday. The benchmark gained 8.8 percent in 2016.
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For a digest of the day's business stories in Australian newspapers, double click on PRESS/AUB