News: RIO Australian shares inch down as financials drop, but miners support; NZ slips

• Aussie shares start August slightly lower
• Higher commodity prices support mining stocks
• Investors wait for Rio Tinto results

Australian shares edged down on Wednesday as financial stocks followed some U.S. banks lower, but miners supported the market on the back of gains in commodity prices the day before.

At the start of a new month, the S&P/ASX 200 index (xjo) had slipped 6.5 points to 6,273.7 by 0200 GMT. It was little changed on Tuesday.

Mining and materials stocks were the biggest lift to the benchmark, buoyed by a rally in commodity prices after a Bloomberg report on Tuesday suggested the United States and China were looking to resolve trade differences.

Global miner BHP (BHP) led the gains, with the sector index .AXMM up close to 1 percent.

Fellow miner Rio Tinto (RIO) crept higher ahead of its half-year results later in the day, which are expected to be strong.

"Obviously, the mix of commodities prices over the last year has been very favourable, with (Rio's) profit coming from aluminium, copper and good quality ... iron ore" said Damian Rooney, director of equity sales at Argonaut.

"It's going to be their best profit figures since 2014." However, prices for many commodities had started to ease again on Wednesday, with a source saying the Trump administration plans to propose slapping a 25-percent tariff on $200 billion worth of imported Chinese goods.

Meanwhile, financials, which account for over a quarter of the S&P/ASX 200, were the biggest drag, with the 'Big Four' banks leading the declines. The main financial index .AXFJ dropped 0.7 percent.

"I think the key trend here is the U.S. market, the financial sector was down about 70 basis points," said Argonaut's Rooney.

"Comments about trade tariffs have sent futures lower this morning."

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) dropped 1.2 percent, with National Australia Bank (NAB) down by the same percentage and Westpac Banking (WBC) declining 1 percent.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index (nz50) fell 0.4 percent, or 34.78 points, to 8,887.31.

Telecommunications firm Spark New Zealand (SPK) and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corporation Ltd (FPH) weighed heaviest, falling 1.3 percent and 1 percent respectively.

Heartland Bank (HBL) was among the top gainers, up as much as 1.8 percent after it said it intended to list on the Australian Stock Exchange as part of a planned restructuring. For more individual stocks activity click on

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