Australian stocks open lower on Europe doubts

SYDNEY: Australian share prices opened one percent lower on Wednesday, as investors worried that European leaders are failing to tackle their debt crisis fast enough.

At 10:15am (2315 GMT) the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 had shed 42.9 points, or one percent, to 4,227.9.

"Uncertainty over how much progress European leaders are making in these debt talks is likely to dominate trading today," IG Markets strategist Stan Shamu said.

The booming Australian dollar also came off a six-week high of 105.01 US cents to hit 104.27 US cents early Wednesday.