* Banks lead losses, ANZ slumps as it faces criminal charges
* Health stocks buck trend, Cochlear ends at record
* NZ dairy stocks tank as Synlait raises milk price outlook (Updates to close)
June 1 (Reuters) - Australian shares ended lower on Friday as the banking sector was shaken by news ANZ ANZ.AX is facing criminal charges, while sentiment was further hurt by a U.S. move to impose trade tariffs against some of its key trading partners.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO closed 0.4 percent lower, dropping 21.5 points to 5,990.4.
The index marked its third week in the red as trade tariffs and bank woes on Friday added to a sell-off following Italy's political turmoil earlier in the week. banking index .AXFJ lost 0.9 percent after the Australian competition watchdog said federal prosecutors would charge Australia and New Zealand Banking over cartel arrangements in a $2.3 billion share issue. latest development compounds a publicity nightmare for the country's biggest financial firms as they grapple with daily allegations of wrongdoing under a public inquiry, which is scheduled to run to the end of the year. dropped 1.5 percent while National Australia Bank NAB.AX lost 0.6 percent to close at its lowest in more than one-and-a-half years. Commonwealth Bank of Australia CBA.AX fell 0.9 percent.
Meanwhile, broader markets were fragile on heightened worries about a global trade war after Canada, Mexico and the European Union swiftly responded with retaliatory tariffs to U.S. import tariffs on steel and aluminium. stocks .AXEJ added to the fall as oil prices weakened on oversupply concerns. O/R
Origin Energy Ltd ORG.AX closed at its lowest in one month, down 1.6 percent.
However, the mining index .AXMM was supported by strength in metal and iron ore prices, though global miner Rio Tinto (LON:RIO) RIO.AX , whose largest concentration of aluminium smelters is in Canada, fell 0.6 percent.
Some investors took shelter in defensive stocks such as healthcare .AXHJ , which ended 0.6 percent higher after having touched a record during the session.
Australian pharmaceutical heavyweights CSL Ltd CSL.AX and Cochlear Ltd COH.AX gained 0.2 percent and 3.7 percent, respectively, with the latter closing at a record.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 lost 0.3 percent or 22.63 points to 8,636.16. The index ended the week slightly lower, its third straight weekly loss.
Consumer staples stocks dented the index the most after dairy products maker Synlait Milk SML.NZ raised its base forecast milk price for the 2017-18 season, signalling higher raw material costs. dropped 2.6 percent while a2 Milk Company ATM.NZ , which has a stake in the former, lost 3.9 percent and was the top drag on the index.