Reuters: Hot Stocks: Australian shares slump 2.3 pct; index below 5,000

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Australian shares slump 2.3 pct; index below 5,000 Feb 21st 2013, 05:25 Tweet Share this Email Print Thu Feb 21, 2013 12:25am EST MELBOURNE, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Australian shares closed down 2.3 percent on Thursday as mining, bank and energy stocks slumped on worries the United States could stop or cut its monetary stimulus programme, which sparked a sell-off in risk assets. A number of Federal Reserve officials think the central bank might have to slow or stop buying bonds, according to minutes of the central bank's policy meeting. Index heavyweight miner BHP Billiton Ltd dropped 3.8 percent and rival Rio Tinto LTD fell 3 percent. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index shed 118.6 points to 4,980.1, according to the latest data. It hit a 4-1/2 year high on Wednesday after gaining 17 percent from November lows. Gold prices hit a 7-month low, hurt by talk a hedge fund had been liquidating positions in commodities. (Reporting by Miranda Maxwell; Editing by Richard Borsuk) Related Quotes and News Company Price Related News Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/ Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above.

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