Australia shares seen subdued, euro zone worries linger

SYDNEY, March 28 (Reuters) - Australian shares are likely to open lower on Thursday, the last day of trade before the Easter holiday, following a subdued session on Wall Street amid ongoing concerns about the Cyprus financial crisis.

* Local share price index futures

dipped 0.3 percent to 4,991, a 4.0-point discount to the underlying S&P/ASX 200 index

close. The benchmark rose 0.9 percent on Wednesday.

* New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index

fell 0.2 percent to 4,402.2 in early trade, backing off from a record high hit in the previous session.

* U.S. stocks rebounded from early declines to close little changed on Wednesday, but investors were still worried about the chance of a run on Cypriot banks and its possible implications for other euro-zone lenders.

* Iron ore hit its highest in almost two weeks on Wednesday as some Chinese mills rebuilt stockpiles, although upward momentum could be short-lived as steel producers curb output amid slow demand.

* Copper fell on Wednesday due to a stronger dollar and concerns over the euro zone, while data was mixed out of the United States, the world's largest economy.

* Australian construction firm Leighton Holdings Ltd

said it has reached agreement with Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan for the sale of about 70 percent of its telecommunications assets.

* Bluescope Steel Ltd

, Australia's largest steel maker, said it has started its $1.36 billion metal joint venture with Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp after completing the sale of 50 percent of business.

* Linc Energy Ltd said it has raised A$200 million in a convertible bonds issue.

----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2159 GMT ------------

INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG S&P 500 1562.85 -0.06% -0.920 USD/JPY 94.37 -0.06% -0.060 10-YR US TSY YLD 1.8454 -- -0.066 SPOT GOLD 1604.85 0.00% 0.060 US CRUDE 96.69 0.11% 0.110 DOW JONES 14526.16 -0.23% -33.49 ASIA ADRS 136.30 0.30% 0.41 -------------------------------------------------------------

* Wall St ends flat on late buying, Cyprus woes linger

* Oil higher but rising crude inventories limit gains

* Gold edges up on euro zone fears, Fed stimulus hopes

* Copper falls on strong dollar, euro zone worries

For a digest of the day's business stories in Australian newspapers, double click on

(Australia/New Zealand bureaux; [phone]/[phone])

(Reporting By Maggie Lu Yueyang)

(([e-mail])([phone])(Reuters Messaging: [e-mail]))

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