Australian shares fell 2 percent to close at a seven-week low on Wednesday on the debt mess in Europe and fears of weaker growth in China after a survey showed Chinese factory activity was the weakest in 32 months in November. The top miners fell the hardest among the blue chip companies, on worries that growth in China, their main customer, may be slowing more than expected as a result of Europe's woes, although fund managers and dealers played down that threat.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index dropped 82 points to close at 4,051.0, in its fourth straight day of losses. New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index closed up 0.5 percent at 3,268.7. Global miners BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto sank more than 3 percent. The top banks were also hit hard, all falling between 2 and 3.3 percent.