Australia, NZ: Australia shares steady as NAB rallies, NZ edges up

[SYDNEY] Australian shares finished little changed on Thursday amid a tug-of-war between weak mining stocks and encouraging results from National Australia Bank.

The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO edged up 7.96 points or 0.15 per cent to 5279.10, a steadier performance after Wednesday's 1.5 per cent drop.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index finished up 0.76 per cent or 51.98 points to finish the session at 6876.48.

REUTERS