News: Australia shares fall 0.5 percent, New Zealand close to record high

SYDNEY/WELLINGTON, March 23 (Reuters) - Australian shares declined on Wednesday afternoon as weakness in miners and financials dragged on the broader market, while New Zealand stocks edged closer to all-time highs.

The S&P/ASX 200 index (xjo) fell 0.5 percent, or 25.02 points to 5,141.6 by 0130 GMT. The benchmark, which closed little changed on Tuesday, hit a more than a two-month high last week.

"The market needs new news to generate further upside and we need some hard hitting news to push it down because we have had some bearish news recently," said Chris Weston, chief market strategist, ‎IG Markets.

"We are in this key juncture in terms of price action." Financials led the benchmark down, falling 0.26 percent as several of Australia's largest banks came under pressure. Shares in National Australia Bank Ltd (NAB) fell more than 1.5 percent, while Westpac Banking Group Corp (WBC) and Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) each fell nearly 0.5 percent.

In contrast, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ANZ) edged higher, which traders attributed to a recent Goldman Sachs note that reiterated its positive view for the bank.

Australia's large mining firms were hit by weak commodity prices. BHP Billiton Ltd (BHP) and Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) each fell nearly 1.5 percent.

Shares in Woodside Petroleum Ltd (WPL) declined 0.5 percent on news its joint venture partners have decided to halt plans to build the Browse floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) project off Australia in the face of challenging market conditions.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index (nz50) was largely flat on Wednesday, edging up 0.10 percent or 8.47 points to 6,672.712 - near a fresh record high of 6,686.6.

Air New Zealand (AIR) rose 0.7 percent and milk company A2 (ATM) led gains, rising 3.1 percent.

Shares in Fonterra's (FCG) fund, which provides investor exposure to the farmer-owned dairy exporter, edged up 0.2 percent after the company posted a jump in half-year net profits that were in line with expectations.

Auckland Airport (AIA) lost 1.1 percent while Fletcher Building (FBU) fell 2.7 percent.

Meridian Energy Ltd (MEL) gave up 0.5 percent as investors took profits after the stock rose 2.8 percent on the previous session.