Australia shares take breather after hot rally, set for weekly gain

(Adds analysis, quotes, stocks on the move)

SYDNEY/WELLINGTON, March 20 (Reuters) - Australian shares were little changed on Friday as investors took stock of a strong rally in the previous session, but the market was still on track to post its best weekly performance in over a month.

The S&P/ASX 200 index drifted in and out of negative territory and was last 0.04 percent higher at 5,953.4. Still, it was up some 2.4 percent on the week.

The benchmark index jumped 1.9 percent on Thursday after comments from the Federal Reserve prompted investors to price in a later start and a slower pace for future U.S. interest rate rises.

"Some people are catching their breath. People got a little overly excited in the banks and we're seeing a bit of moderation," said Evan Lucas, market strategist at IG (LSE: IGG.L - news) .

The big four banks were mostly softer, with Commonwealth Bank easing to A$95.59, off a record high of A$95.80 set on Thursday.

Mining shares continued to drag on the wider market as falling iron ore prices kept investors well away. Fortescue Metals shed 1.4 percent, while Rio Tinto (Xetra: 855018 - news) slipped 0.6 percent.

APN News & Media (NZSE: APN.NZ - news) was a standout performer, soaring as much as 14.1 percent after News Corp raised its stake in the media company.

New Zealand's benchmark NZX50 index rose 6.5 points or 0.1 percent to 5,865.9, near a lifetime high of 5,927.1 hit at the start of the week as investors continued to pick up shares in Spark.

Shares (Berlin: DI6.BE - news) in the nation's dominant telecommunications provider rose 0.7 percent, as a slide to a three-month trough on Wednesday prompted some buying.

Pacific Edge rallied 7.5 percent after the cancer diagnostics company earlier this week announced it had secured international patents for its detection technologies.

Struggling children's clothing maker Pumpkin Patch soared 43 percent to its highest since late November, after announcing a jump in first-half profits on the previous year's disastrous results. (Reporting by Ian Chua in SYDNEY and Naomi Tajitsu in WELLINGTON; Editing by Kim Coghill)