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Oct 10 (Reuters) - Australian shares closed flat on Thursday as uncertainty over the outcome of U.S.-China trade talks kept most investors on the sidelines, with small gains in financial stocks outweighing losses in resources.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO ended the day at 6,547.1. The benchmark lost 0.7% on Wednesday.
Sentiment had dampened following a report that the Chinese delegation was planning to cut short its Washington visit, but a separate report later in the day stating that both nations may resolve some of their disputes provided some relief to markets. likelihood of a partial deal remains a more likely scenario than a broad agreement as both economies show signs of slowing down.
Financial stocks .AXFJ tipped higher, helped by gains from Macquarie Group MQG.AX which rose 1%.
AMP Ltd AMP.AX dipped 0.3%. The company had said it will merge its banking and Australian wealth management units as part of a turnaround plan aimed at making the firm more customer-focused. Big Four banks were mixed, with Commonwealth Bank of Australia CBA.AX and National Australia Bank NAB.AX slightly down.
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group ANZ.AX and Westpac Banking Corp WBC.AX advanced 0.3% and 0.4%, respectively.
On the other hand, gold stocks were dragged lower by an 11.2% drop in Resolute Mining RSG.AX after a roaster at its gold mine in Mali was taken offline. 1.5% fall in shares of Newcrest Mining NCM.AX also weighed. Gold prices, however, touched one-week highs as investors globally flocked to the safety of bullion.
Iron ore futures fell on Thursday, leading to a 1.2% fall in Fortescue Metals Group FMG.AX . IRONORE/
Elsewhere, packaging maker Orora Ltd's ORA.AX shares jumped, closing nearly 14% higher, after announcing the sale of its local fibre materials business to Nippon Paper Industries 3863.T for A$1.72 billion ($1.15 billion). sale would be the third-largest Australian acquisition by a Japanese company this year, according to Refinitiv data.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 closed 0.5% lower, down for a second session, losing 54 points to finish at 10,886.73.
SKY Network Television SKT.NZ slid 20.7% to a record low after losing New Zealand cricket broadcasting rights to Spark New Zealand SPK.NZ .