ASX 200 snaps 7-day rally
Woodside loses 3.8%, Santos down 4.3%
Stocks largely unaffected historic Labor party win
Updates to close
By Aaditya GovindRao
May 5 (Reuters) - Australian shares snapped a seven-day rally on Monday, with financials leading declines after Westpac's WBC.AX dour first-half results while energy stocks fell on lower crude prices and as investors shook off a historic win by the ruling Labor party.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO closed 1% lower at 8,157.8 points. The benchmark had gained a cumulative 5.2% over the last seven sessions.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese claimed election victory on Saturday, becoming the first to win consecutive terms in two decades, in a dramatic comeback against once-resurgent conservatives.
Heavyweight financial stocks .AXFJ led the losses, falling 1.6%, as Westpac, the country's no.2 mortgage lender, tumbled 2.9% after missing first-half profit expectations.
"Westpac's profit miss raised some questions about how banks will fare moving ahead in terms of their bottom-line, which put pressure on the financial sector to start the week," KCM Trade's Chief Market Analyst Tim Waterer said.
"The election win for Labor wasn't a game changer for local stocks, given that the result was largely expected."
National Australia Bank NAB.AX and ANZ Group ANZ.AX, both scheduled to report earnings later this week, dropped 2% and 0.8%, respectively.
Energy firms .AXEJ lost 2.9% after oil prices fell more than $2 a barrel as OPEC+ agreed to further speed up oil output hikes, spurring concerns of oversupply. O/R
Woodside Energy WDS.AX dropped 3.8% while Santos STO.AX lost 4.3%.
Flag carrier Qantas QAN.AX gained 1.3% as weak oil prices could spell good news for the airline's profits, according to Waterer.
Miners .AXMM fell 0.6%, while gold miners .AXGD ended 0.7% higher on strong bullion prices. GOL/
Gold Road Resources GOR.AX gained 9.9% on a A$3.7 billion ($2.4 billion) takeover deal with South Africa's Gold Fields. GFIJ.J
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 ended 0.8% higher at 12,421.25 points.
($1 = 1.5427 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Aaditya Govind Rao in Bengaluru; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala)
((Aaditya.govindrao@thomsonreuters.com))
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