Australian shares slid to a 10-month low on Tuesday as sunken commodity prices dragged resources stocks, while other industrial sectors pared losses because of their attractive yields after a selloff lasting several months. The S&P/ASX 200 index ended down 0.7 percent, or 33.78 points, at 5152.3, its lowest close since February 6. The benchmark has fallen for the last six sessions and is down 9 percent from its September 2 peak.
New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index ended 3.3 points lower at 5495.75. "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 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 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 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 Gold prospector OceanaGold 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.
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