Australia shares off 1.1pc, Centro slips on ruling

MELBOURNE: Australian shares weakened 1.1 percent on Monday, heading toward the year's low hit a week ago, and on track for the worst quarterly performance in a year as global worries deterred investors.

The market is on track to lose 7.6 percent for the quarter, which would be the worst quarterly performance since the three months to end-June 2010.

Ahead of the fiscal year-end on Thursday, investors had little reason to buy in with worries about US growth and the Greek debt crisis ahead of a key vote this week on austerity measures weighing on financial markets.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index tumbled 49.3 points to 4,458.8 at 0345 GMT. It firmed 0.2 percent on Friday and posted its first weekly gain in five weeks.

New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index slipped 0.3 percent to 3,445.2.

* Shares in Centro Properties dropped 5 percent to A$0.038 after the Federal Court upheld the corporate watchdog's case against current and former Centro directors who did not notice multibillion dollar gaps in its accounts for 2007.

* Western Australian iron ore miner Atlas Iron dropped 3.8 percent and explorer FerrAus surged 23 percent on a plan to combine their assets in the Pilbara region, followed by an agreed takeover of FerrAus, with an implied offer price of A$0.858 per share.

The companies said the new entity would have a market capitalisation of more than A$3 billion.

FerrAus had previously received an offer from Wah Nam , its largest shareholder.

* Shares in BHP Billiton lost 0.6 percent to A$42.08. A news report said the global miner is on track to complete its $10 billion share buyback six months early, raising hopes of a fresh capital return to shareholders.

* Shares in New Zealand retailer The Warehouse jumped 3.8 percent to NZ$3.56 after a report that Australian grocer Woolworths may look to boost its stake. Woolworths chief executive-elect Grant O'Brien made the comment in Auckland, according to the New Zealand Herald.

* Shares in fund manager Perpetual dropped 2 percent to A$25.03 after its star fund manager John Sevior was quoted as saying he may not return to the fund following a six-month break starting in July.

Copyright Reuters, 2011