Australian Shares were flat with negative bias on Friday's close as the US markets closed for Thanksgiving.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index changed little to close at 8,436.2

Asian stocks slid as Tokyo's consumer prices in November stayed above the 2% target set by the country's central bank, raising fears that the Bank will hike interest rates again, Reuters reported.

In domestic news, total credit in Australia rose 0.6% in October following a 0.5% increase in September, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed.

Consumer caution among Australians appears to be easing with household consumption seen accelerating by the end of next year as signaled by recent indicators such as retail sales and the confidence index, according to a report by ANZ Research.

In corporate news, Resolute Mining (ASX:RSG) made the second settlement payment of about $50 million to the Government of Mali, with an additional $30 million expected to be paid by the end of the year. The company's shares rose almost 5% at market close.

Macquarie Group's (ASX:MQG) Macquarie Asset Management subsidiary reached a preliminary agreement on the financial terms of a potential acquisition of London-based waste management company Renewi for 8.70 pounds sterling per share in cash.

Ampol (ASX:ALD) completed repairs to the regenerator part of a fluidized catalytic cracking unit at its Lytton refinery in Queensland and expects total production to reach 5.2 billion liters during the current year. Its shares slid 2% on close.