MELBOURNE: Australian shares fell 0.6 percent on Wednesday, trimming early losses on euro zone debt worries, with copper and gold prices rising ahead of a US Federal Reserve policy decision.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 was down 23.8 points at 4,209.1 heading toward the close, adding to a 2.8 percent slide over the past two days.
New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index ended down 0.7 percent at 3,308.9.
STOCKS ON THE MOVE
Qantas fell 2.5 percent after it said September traffic rose, while its load factor fell 0.6 percentage points from a year earlier.
Rival Virgin Australia , which said on Wednesday it carried nearly half the passengers stranded on the weekend when Qantas grounded its fleet, was flat at A$0.37.
Steel maker OneSteel , which also produces iron ore, plunged 17 percent to an 11-year low, after warning its first-half profit would dive around 50 percent due to the recent slump in iron ore prices.
"It's a fairly significant downgrade," said George Clapham, head of Australian equities at Arnhem Investment Management, adding that it was 60-65 percent below forecasts.
Bigger rival BlueScope Steel slid 6.6 percent on worries about continuing soft demand for steel.
Top retailer Woolworths held up better than the market, easing0.2 percent, after its new chief flagged the group may sell its electronics chain Dick Smith, which has underperformed rival JB Hi-Fi for some time.
Gold miners were among the few gainers, with St Barbara Mines up 3.2 percent and top gold miner Newcrest Mining up 1.7 percent with gold prices jumping 1 percent on euro zone worries.
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