* Financials and materials drag Aussie shares
* Energy stocks bolstered by higher oil prices
* Spark New Zealand leads NZ shares lower
By Aditya Soni
Sept 12 (Reuters) - Australian shares ticked down on Wednesday as financials took another hit and mining stocks slumped on the back of falling commodities prices.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO edged down 0.2 percent or 9.8 points to 6,169.9 by 0200 GMT. The benchmark rose 0.6 percent on Tuesday.
Banks and insurers were on the back foot, unable to shake off revelations in a high profile months-long inquiry of widespread misconduct in the industry. On Monday, the Royal Commission heard examples of possible misconduct by insurance companies, including spying on policyholders, overcharging customers and misleading sales calls. Somasundaram, Market Portfolio Strategist with Blue Ocean Equities, said a weaker Australian dollar wasn't helping either.
The Australian dollar AUD=D4 has lost about 9.3 percent this year amid the intensifying Sino-U.S. trade dispute, and was hovering around 2-1/2 year lows against the greenback on Tuesday.
Westpac Banking Corp WBC.AX slipped 0.4 percent, while National Australia Bank Ltd NAB.AX dropped 0.6 percent to a more than two-week low.
Elsewhere, Freedom Insurance Group Ltd FIG.AX tumbled 20 percent to an all time low after testifying at the banking inquiry on Tuesday.
Somasundaram said that the big insurance firms will be next in the inquiry's spotlight "and it will get much more uglier" over the next week.
Insurance majors Suncorp Group Ltd SUN.AX and QBE Insurance Group Ltd QBE.AX were trading 1.3 percent and 1.2 percent lower.
Adding to weak sentiment, Chinese Iron ore futures DCIOcv1 lost 1.6 percent after sources suggested China may allow for more flexible production cuts, driving a weakness in materials stocks, especially miners. IRONORE/
Global miner BHP BHP.AX dipped 1 percent, while rival Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) Ltd RIO.AX fell 0.6 percent.
However, energy stocks .AXEJ bucked the market and were up for the third straight session as a report of falling crude inventories and the looming sanctions against Iran bolstered buying interest into the sector. O/R
Woodside Petroleum Ltd WPL.AX , the country's biggest listed oil and gas explorer, jumped 1.9 percent to a more than one-week high, while Santos Ltd STO.AX rose 2.4 percent to its highest since August 24.
APA Group APA.AX also rallied 2.4 percent after Australia's competition watchdog gave its nod to Hong Kong's CK Infrastructure Holdings Ltd 1038.HK for a A$12.98 billion ($9.21 billion) takeover of the gas pipeline operator. the Tasman sea, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 dipped 0.5 percent or 41.34 points to 9,184.23.
Teleco Spark New Zealand Ltd SPK.NZ fell 1.4 percent and was the top drag on the benchmark.
($1 = 1.4092 Australian dollars)