Australian shares edged down 0.2 percent in low volume on Tuesday, dragged down by miners, as investors took profits after recent rallies while persistent worries about the slowdown in top customer China drove down metal prices. In a further sign that the mining sector is losing some momentum, Australia cut its forecast for iron ore revenue in the current fiscal year by one-fifth.
Australia's economy and equities remained overexposed if the slowdown in China turns out to be worse than expected, said Mark Burgess, chief investment officer of London-based Threadneedle Investments. Threadneedle, which holds small positions in BHP Billiton Ltd, Rio Tinto Ltd and Fortescue Metals Group, is underweight in its holdings of global miners, Burgess added.
Top Miner BHP Billiton lost 0.6 percent to A$33.96, while rival Rio Tinto declined 0.4 percent to A$57.25. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index lost 7.8 points to close at 4,394.7. It rose 0.3 percent to a fresh four-month high on Monday. New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index fell 0.3 percent to 3,804.4. CSL Ltd, the world's No 2 blood products maker, rose 1.5 percent and Telstra Corp Ltd, Australia's biggest phone company, gained 0.3 percent. Among the best performers, Fortescue Metals Group surged 17 percent, the biggest one-day rally since June 2009. The world's No 4 iron ore miner said it has lined up $4.5 billion in debt and is in talks to sell stakes in some of its assets.
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