SYDNEY: Australian shares fell 1.4 percent early on Friday, hurt by weak commodity prices and rising Europe debt contagion fears that rattled investors, pushing them to shed risky assets.
Miners led losses with top two BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto both falling over 2 percent.
Spain's borrowing costs jumped to levels seen as unsustainable on Thursday, while Greek police clashed with anti-austerity protesters and Italy announced sweeping reforms to deal with the long-running crisis.
Telstra, Australia's largest telecoms provider, fared better, dropping 0.6 percent. It told investors it was on track to meet guidance of low single-digit growth in total revenue and earnings.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index fell 60.73 points to 4,197.50 at 2341 GMT.
New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index slipped 0.5 percent to 3,261.93 points.
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