Australian stocks closed at a two-year low on Friday after major miners led the local bourse's worst sell-off since early 2009 as fears about Europe's escalating debt crisis and another US recession hammered investor confidence globally. The Australian market ended 4 percent weaker, in line with other markets in the region, with selling across all sectors as market heavyweights like Rio Tinto and BHP Billiton took heavy losses.
Traders warned of further losses, saying the Australian market was hostage to global markets, but said the time was ripe for investors to pick up bargains. "In the medium term this will provide a fantastic buying opportunity but picking the absolute bottom to this is nigh on impossible," said Matt Williams, senior portfolio manager at fund manager Perpetual. Australia's 4 percent fall matched the drop on global markets as investors stampeded out of stocks and into the safety of cash and government debt, on fears the euro zone debt crisis is accelerating and a weak US economy could lead to a global recession.
BHP Billiton finished 4.8 percent lower at A$38.12. Rio Tinto, which missed estimates with a $7.8 billion first-half profit on Thursday, dropped 6 percent to A$72.00. National Australia Bank dropped 4 percent, ANZ lost 4.6 percent, Commonwealth Bank slipped 2.7 percent and Westpac finished the day 2.5 percent weaker. The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 171.1 points to close at 4,105.4, according to the latest available data, off an earlier low of 4,087.7. That followed a 1.3 percent fall on Thursday. It was the bourse's biggest one-day drop since early January 2009, at the height of the global economic downturn. New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index fared slightly better, down 3.0 percent to 3,276.5.
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