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Financials, real estate dent Australia shares; NZ snaps 5-day winning streak

Published 20/06/2017, 04:50 pm
© Reuters.  Financials, real estate dent Australia shares; NZ snaps 5-day winning streak
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June 20 (Reuters) - Australian shares ended lower on Tuesday, pressured by losses in financials and real estate stocks as investors worried about their outlooks.

The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO declined 0.8 percent, or 47.87 points to finish the session at 5,757.30.

Australia's real estate investment trusts (REITs) face a combination of severe cyclical consumer slowdown and structural pressure from e-commerce, which is affecting retail margins and reducing demand for physical space, Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) in a note.

Financial stocks also weighed on the index with the "big four" banks ending between 0.7 and 1.9 percent lower.

Moody's Investors Service on Monday downgraded the long-term credit ratings for those lenders to Aa3 from Aa2, saying it sees elevated risks in the housing sector. the trend, consumer discretionary stocks ended higher with gaming company Tatts Group Ltd TTS.AX closing 3.6 percent higher.

An Australian regulator cleared Tabcorp Holdings Ltd's TAH.AX proposed takeover of Tatts Group Ltd for A$6.15 billion ($4.67 billion) Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 ended 0.1 percent lower, snapping five sessions of gains, after hitting an intra-day record high earlier in the day.

Telecommunications and healthcare stocks led the losses in the index. Telecommunications and digital services provider Spark New Zealand Ltd SPK.NZ fell 1.3 percent while Ryman Healthcare Ltd RYM.NZ declined 1.4 percent.

Air New Zealand Ltd AIR.NZ was among the top gainers on the benchmark, ending up 1.9 percent to its highest close in nearly 16 years.

The airline said its passenger numbers had grown in May and that a decline in a key revenue measure had moderated.

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