* Gold stocks tumble 5.5% to close at over 4-month low
* REA Group's disappointing Q1 result drags real-estate cos
* Australian benchmark logs 0.8% weekly gain, NZ adds 1.1% (Updates to close)
Nov 8 (Reuters) - Australian shares closed little changed on Friday, as gains in energy stocks offset a sell-off in gold miners after price of the precious metal slumped overnight.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO fell 0.04% or 2.5 points to 6,724.1 at the close of trade. The index posted a weekly gain of 0.8%.
U.S. stock indexes closed at record highs and safe-haven demand for gold tumbled on Wednesday amid signals of progress in trade talks, however, the enthusiasm did not spill into Asian markets.
News that the "phase one" trade deal faces fierce internal opposition in the White House and from outside advisers weighed on most Asian bourses. MKTS/GLOB
In Australia, losses were dominated by gold miners .AXGD , which had their worst session in almost three years following a 2% plunge in the precious metal's prices earlier on Thursday.
Newcrest Mining NCM.AX , the country's biggest-listed gold miner, slumped 4.6%, while Northern Star Resources NST.AX lost 6.6%.
For the week, the gold index dropped nearly 8%, its worst weekly performance since mid-September, as rising hopes for a Sino-U.S. trade deal sapped demand for safe-haven assets.
Shares of land developers and real-estate companies were also lower after property classifieds advertiser REA Group REA.AX forecast lower listings for the first-half of 2020 and posted lower first-quarter revenue. lost 3.6%, while peer Domain Holdings Australia DHG.AX slipped 2.8%. Real estate investment trust Dexus DXS.AX dropped 2.3% to hit an over 9-month low.
REA's warning showed that while the country's housing market has displayed early signs of recovery in the last few months, it is yet to have an effect on companies earnings.
Building materials maker Boral BLD.AX had also warned of a weaker first half earlier this week.
Offering some relief, energy stocks rose .AXEJ rose on strength in oil prices. Beach Energy BPT.AX tacked on 1.7%, while Santos STO.AX firmed 1.5%.
The country's biggest independent oil and gas producer Woodside Petroleum WPL.AX rose 2% after it raised the estimate for dry gas reserves at its Scarborough project, which it counts as a major growth driver in the next decade. the Tasman sea, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 rose 0.8%, or 81.92 points, to finish the session at 10,876.98. The index recorded a weekly gain of 1.1%.
Construction firm Fletcher Building FBU.NZ rose 5.6%, outweighing a 1.4% drop in dairy giant a2 Milk Company ATM.NZ .