Australia shares pare losses, demand soars for BHP

Yahoo!7 News Wednesday 23rd February, 2011

On Wednesday 23 February 2011, 16:35 EST (Updates to close) MELBOURNE, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Australian stocks recouped half their early losses to end down 0.2 percent on Wednesday, with hefty demand for top stock BHP Billiton ahead of a share buyback shielding the market from a bigger fall. BHP shares ended down 1 cent at A$46.57 after mostly trading higher in their biggest volume in nearly four years, adding to a 1.6 percent gain on Tuesday as investors piled into the stock ahead of a deadline on Thursday to be eligible for one component of the buyback. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 closed down 10.8 points at 4,845.9, according to the latest data. New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index rose 0.4 percent to close at 3,372.1, with heavyweight Fletcher Building up 0.8 percent on the pro...

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