SYDNEY (REUTERS) - Australian shares finished a choppy session flat on Tuesday with the broader market bolstered by a modest recovery among resource stocks, though Suncorp Group weighed on the index after a A$500 million (S$579 million) writedown caused its shares to fall sharply.

Suncorp lost 2 per cent, its biggest one-day drop since Feb 24.

The S&P/ASX 200 index slipped 1.1 points to 5,511.7 at the close of trade. The benchmark rose 0.4 per cent on Monday.

New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index lost 0.2 per cent or 7.8 points to finish the session at 5,145.9.