SYDNEY: Australian shares fell 0.5 percent on Thursday morning after weak data on European business activity and China's manufacturing sector sparked concerns on global growth.
Those worries were underscored by several companies, including department store chain David Jones, minerals sands miner Iluka Resources, which flagged uncertainty over the outlook for the next six months.
Purchasing managers surveys, or PMIs, showed that the euro zone's economy is in danger of tipping into recession, while the manufacturing sector in China shrank for a fourth month as new export orders fell.
Weak manufacturing growth "readings for both Europe and China were a reminder to investors that the international growth outlook is at best moderate," said Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC Markets, adding that rising oil prices would aggravate the poor growth outlook.
Markets largely shrugged off the possibility of political turmoil in Canberra, with former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd probably looking to topple his successor, Julia Gillard, three dealers said.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index was down 20.8 points at 4,272.3 at
New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index gained half a point to 3,328.7.
Market heavyweights BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto fell 0.8 percent and 1.4 percent respectively, while the big bankswere down between 0.4 percent and 1 percent.
Minerals sands miner Iluka Resources, which has been among the market's top performers over the past two years and delivered a near 10-fold dividend increase to 75 cents a share, fell 4.7 percent after a warning about volatile economic conditions.
"This may entail holding a 'cash buffer' until global economic conditions become more stable," Iluka Managing Director David Robb said in a statement.
STOCKS ON THE MOVE
Insurance Australia Group jumped 8 percent after beating market forecasts for its first-half profit and saying it would meet its full-year forecast.
Rare earths miner Lynas Corp fell 3.9 percent to A$1.24 after hitting another potential delay in opening its Malaysian refinery. Opponents to the plant have asked a court to hold up start-up of the plant and review its license, orders that the company said it would fight vigorously.
Upmarket department store chain David Jones rose 2.3 percent to A$2.63 after reporting sales had improved in December and January, although they were still down.
Mining services firm Industrea Ltd slumped 23 percent to two-month low of A$0.96 after delivering a disappointing first-half result and full year forecast. It flagged net profit for the year to June would rise 5-10 percent, which is less than half the growth analysts had expected, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
In stark contrast to Industrea, mining services firm Ausdrill rocketed 6 percent to a record high of A$4.03 after reporting a 50 percent increase in first-half profit and flagging the second-half would be just as strong.
"The resource industry is expected to remain exceptionally strong over the medium term in Australia and Africa and as a consequence Ausdrill remains very well placed for continued growth," Managing Director Ron Sayers said in a statement.
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