Australia shares slip as Myer tumbles on weak sales, NZ hits record high

(Adds analysis, quotes, stocks on the move)

By Gyles Beckford and Cecile Lefort

SYDNEY/WELLINGTON, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Australian shares fell 0.7 percent on Wednesday, dragged down by weakness in blue-chip miners and a tumble in Myer Holdings stocks on weak sales at its department stores.

Financial and basic materials took a beating with Macquarie Group off 2.5 percent after it traded ex-dividend.

Sentiment was also hurt after Myer, Australia's largest department store, reported poor sales. The shares skidded 5.2 percent to A$1.79, pulling closer to two-year lows touched last month.

Leanne Jones, an analyst at Bell Direct, sees further potential downside as Myer's spending plan may not be enough to boost sales. Its shares have tumbled 35 percent so far this year, largely due to rising operating costs and falling profits.

The S&P/ASX 200 index dropped 34.6 points to 5,482.5 by 0107 GMT, having closed the last session slightly down.

Miners were also under pressure with Fortescue Metals Group and BHP Billiton (NYSE: BBL - news) shedding around 2 percent, while Rio Tinto (Xetra: 855018 - news) was down over 1 percent.

Steven Daghlian, a market analyst at Commonwealth Bank of Australia, expects the benchmark index to remain under pressure as investors await economic data out of China and Europe later this week.

Australia is particularly sensitive to news of out China, its key export market as growth in the Asian economic powerhouse has cooled in recent quarters.

New Zealand's benchmark NZX50 index edged up 0.2 percent, having set a fresh record high at 5,507.47.

Among the top-10 stocks, second-ranked stock, telco Spark , was 0.6 percent higher at NZ$3.26, a six-and-a-half year peak while Auckland International Airport was 1 percent higher at a five-month high of NZ$4.00. (Editing by Shri Navaratnam)