Australian shares were flat on Thursday, as gains across a bevy...

Australian shares were flat on Thursday, as gains across a bevy of sectors were largely negated by weakness in materials, with iron ore miners taking a hit from falling prices.

The S&P/ASX 200 index (xjo) rose 1.16 points or 0.02 percent to 5773.4 by 0037 GMT. The benchmark gained 0.6 percent on Wednesday.

Index heavyweights BHP Billiton Ltd (BHP) and Rio Tinto Ltd (RIO) were among the main drags on the benchmark, with both stocks losing more than 1 percent each.

"The weakness in resources is weighing in on the index. Primarily, it'd have to with the iron ore price," said Ben Le Brun, a market analyst at OptionsXpress.

Iron ore futures fell overnight on fears of falling demand in winter as Beijing's crusade against pollution is likely to reduce steel production cuts. [IRONORE/]

"There wasn’t much happening in commodities overnight… We priced in the gains in oil in the previous session, so I think the overarching thematic is softer iron ore prices," he added.

Financials stocks rose, with the financial index rising about 0.2 percent, driven by rising bank stocks.

Bank of Queensland Ltd (BOQ) was among the top percentage gainers on the index after its annual profit rose about 4 percent. The stock was also trading at a 20-month high.

"Bank of Queensland released some earnings numbers today which impressed, so that might be driving up sentiment in the sector," Le Brun added.

Industrial stocks were also higher, with contract miner CIMIC Group Ltd (CIM) hitting a more than 9-year high.

Meanwhile, New Zealand shares rose to an intraday record for a sixth consecutive session, buoyed by materials and consumer staples, although healthcare stocks capped gains.

New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index (nz50) rose 0.05 percent or 4 points to 8064.98.

Building materials maker Fletcher Building Ltd (FBU) gained about 1.8 percent, while Synlait Milk Ltd (SML) touched a record high.

Conversely, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corporation Ltd (FPH) shed about 2.6 percent.