* Victoria records 28 days without an infection
* Financials, energy, mining set for best month on record
* Gold stocks set for worst month since March
Nov 27 (Reuters) - Australian shares were on course for
their best month as the market euphoria around COVID-19 vaccines
and Joe Biden's transition to the White House lifted sentiment,
despite a slight easing on the day amid a rise in coronavirus
cases globally.
The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 0.2% to 6,622.9 by 0006
GMT on Friday, though losses on the benchmark were limited as
Victoria, previously the country's coronavirus hotbed, said it
had detected no fresh infections in the last 28 days.
The benchmark was on course for its fourth straight weekly
gain and its best month on record, supported by optimism
surrounding easing lockdowns.
In the closest he has come to conceding the U.S. election,
U.S. President Donald Trump said late Thursday that he would
leave the White House if the U.S. Electoral College votes for
President-elect Joe Biden, soothing political uncertainty in
Washington.
British drugmaker AstraZeneca, however, said it
would likely run an additional global trial to assess the
efficacy of its COVID-19 vaccine amid questions over results
from its late-stage study, Bloomberg News reported.
The vaccine was touted to be cheaper and more easily
distributable than rivals and some experts say the concerns
could affect its chances of getting speedy U.S. and EU
regulatory approval.
"There is certainly some rough terrain ahead for the global
recovery and potential for economic scarring," analysts at ANZ
said in a note, citing a spurt of new COVID-19 cases across the
United States and Europe.
Energy, mining and financial stocks
were all headed for a fourth straight weekly gain, while gold
stocks were set for their biggest monthly loss since March.
Still, energy stocks saw their biggest decline on Friday as
oil prices retreated on oversupply concerns. Index heavyweights
Woodside Petroleum and Santos lost as much as
1.4% and 1.9%, respectively.
Healthcare stocks fell 0.7%, with industry giant CSL
accounting for a bulk of the losses.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index traded flat
at 12,601.85, as gains in healthcare and utilities balanced out
losses in financials.
(Reporting by Arpit Nayak in Bengaluru, Editing by Sherry
Jacob-Phillips)