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SYDNEY, July 7 (Reuters) - Australian share market gains were capped on Thursday after Standard & Poor's downgraded the nation's credit outlook from stable to negative, while New Zealand shares edged higher.
After rising nearly 1 percent at the opening, the S&P/ASX 200 index (xjo) shed some gains to close up 30.4 points, or 0.6 percent, at 5,227.9. The benchmark is down 1 percent so far in 2016.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index (nz50) rose 30.3 points, or 0.4 percent, to finish the session at 7,007.5.
