Markets
Australia shares fall 0.3 percent on open, BHP slips
MELBOURNE : Australian stocks opened 0.3 percent lower as global economic fears weighed, with global miner BHP Billiton
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MELBOURNE: Australian stocks opened 0.3 percent lower as global economic fears weighed, with global miner BHP Billiton down 2 percent after its $12.1 billion takeover for shale gas firm Petrohawk.
BHP swooped on Petrohawk with an all-cash offer at a 65 percent premium, marking the Anglo-Australian firm's biggest step into the booming shale-gas industry.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index fell 13.7 points to 4477.0 at 0010 GMT. The index fell 0.5 percent to a two-week low on Thursday.
New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index gained 0.2 percent to 3,417.6.
Copyright Reuters, 2011
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