News: APX Australian shares set for biggest weekly loss since April

• AMP sees best day in 17 years on takeover offer
• Financials mark biggest intraday gain in more than two weeks
• Gold stocks touch 4-month low

Oct 30 (Reuters) - Australian shares edged lower on Friday as concerns about the global economic health due to surging COVID-19 cases around the world overshadowed upbeat U.S. data, with the benchmark heading for its biggest weekly drop since April.

The S&P/ASX 200 index (xjo) slipped 0.3% or 20.50 points to 5,939.8 by 0143 GMT.

While the U.S. economy grew at a record pace in the third quarter, helping Wall Street close higher, surging COVID-19 cases in the country and in Europe, the resultant nationwide lockdowns in Germany and France weighed on sentiment.

Fears about what these would mean for an already fragile economic recovery pressured Australian stocks, with the gold sub-index .AXGD driving losses. The index fell 1.4% to a four-month low.

OceanaGold Corp (OGC) slumped 10%, followed by Red 5 Ltd (RED) , down 4.3%.

The Australian tech index .AXIJ dropped 1.3%. Fintech firm EML Payments Ltd (EML) and machine learning company Appen Ltd (APX) were among biggest laggards, down 3.8% and 2.3%, respectively.

Healthcare shares .AXHJ slid 0.7%, with the industry major CSL Ltd (CSL) shedding 0.4%.

Financial stocks .AXFJ were a bright spot as they added as much as 1.4% and marked their biggest intraday gain in more than two weeks, largely due to AMP Ltd's (AMP) 20% surge.

Shares of the troubled wealth manager saw their biggest intraday percentage gain in 17 years and topped the benchmark after U.S.-based Ares Management Corp ARES.N made a non-binding acquisition offer which local media says could be valued about A$5 billion ($3.56 billion).

The number of issues on the ASX that advanced were 713, while 569 declined as a 1.3-to-1 ratio favoured advancers.

In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index (nz50) fell 0.5% to 12,138.8, dragged by Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corp (FPH) and Auckland International Airport (AIA) .

($1 = 1.4027 Australian dollars)