Australia shares fall sixth day, losses narrow as investors see value

* Sixth straight decline

* Resources follower commodities lower

* Glimmers of hope in broader market (Adds analysis, quotes, stocks on the move)

SYDNEY/WELLINGTON, Dec 16 (Reuters) - Australian shares fell for a sixth straight session on Tuesday as sunken commodity prices dragged down resources stocks while other industrial sectors pared losses because of the attractive yields they offer after a selloff lasting several months.

By 0130 GMT the S&P/ASX 200 index was down 0.4 percent or 21.18 points at 5164.6. The benchmark is now 9 percent under its Sept. 2 peak and down 3.5 percent since the start of the year.

"Although the pressure points are as expected, in the energy and resources sectors, the rest of the market is actually holding up reasonably well," said CMC Markets chief strategist Michael McCarthy.

"Prices are substantially lower (since September), and that means a lot of these stocks that have been popular with investors have come back into territory where they are buyable."

Iron ore majors led resources stocks lower, with BHP Billiton down 3 percent at A$27.5, Rio Tinto (Xetra: 855018 - news) off by 1.4 percent at A$52.76 and Fortescue Metals Group 1.6 percent lower at A$2.44.

Among oil players, Santos dropped 1.6 percent to A$7.34, Woodside Petroleum (Other OTC: WOPEF - news) declined 2.3 percent to A$34.57 and Sundance Energy dipped 6.4 percent to A$0.41.

Banks fell less sharply. Westpac Banking Corp eased 0.2 percent to A$31.75 and Commonwealth Bank of Australia (Other OTC: CBAUF - news) slid 0.1 percent to A$81.21, while Australia and New Zealand Banking Group added 0.2 percent to A$30.83.

Telco Telstra Corp firmed by 0.2 percent to A$5.75 and supermarket giants Woolworths and Westfarmers , which owns the Coles grocery chain, rose 0.3 percent to A$29.30 and 0.2 percent to A$40.58 respectively.

SurfStitch Group, an online retailer of outdoor clothing, had a mild debut to trade at A$0.95 versus its A$1.00 issue price.

New Zealand's benchmark NZX50 index was little changed at 5,498.19 but was on the back foot as ongoing weakness in global commodity prices kept investors away from riskier assets, including shares.

Gold prospector OceanaGold (Other OTC: OGDCF - news) fell 6.5 percent to a two-year low of NZ$7.94, pushed lower by a hefty fall in spot gold prices on Monday.

Mighty River Power slipped 1.6 percent to NZ$3.03 after the power generator and retailer, which is partially owned by the government said, it would exit its geothermal investments in Chile and Germany.

Skellerup fell 2 percent to NZ$1.42, approaching a 16-month low of NZ$1.40 touched the previous day, as the manufacturer of agricultural and industrial rubber goods has been knocked by a fall in global dairy prices.

(Reporting by Byron Kaye and Naomi Tajitsu; Editing by Eric Meijer)