Topic: Australia

Asian shares eased on Thursday as markets were vulnerable to faltering factory orders in China and lack of concrete measures shown by European leaders to tackle the risk of Greece leaving the currency bloc.

Asian shares retreated on Wednesday as hopes for fresh measures to tackle euro zone debt faded and caution set in ahead of a meeting of European leaders, with renewed fears Greece would leave the euro bloc dampening appetite for riskier assets.

Myer, Australia's largest department store chain, cut its profit guidance for the year after posting a 2.1 percent decline in same-store sales in its fiscal third quarter as consumers stuck to their frugal shopping habits.

Asian markets kept gains on Tuesday after reclaiming some ground to move off lows for the year the day before, as hopes grew that Europe would embark on fresh action to address its debt crisis while promoting growth.

Asian markets recovered some ground on Monday after last week's heavy losses, but investors remained wary about the euro zone despite world leaders calling for Greece to stay in the monetary union and for Europe to balance austerity with growth.

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group's chief executive said European funding markets were "essentially closed" because of turmoil in Europe, while Asia and U.S. markets were open, clarifying his earlier comments on the closure of credit markets. 

Asian shares ended lower on Friday as concerns about the global economic outlook grew due to an escalating banking crisis in Spain and political uncertainty in Greece that has fueled concerns of a euro zone break-up. 

Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the country's top lender by market value, said on Thursday its third-quarter cash profit rose 3 percent, in line with expectations, buoyed by lower bad-debt charges despite softer credit demand and higher funding costs.

Asian shares recovered some ground on Thursday from the previous day's sell-off, but investors found little reason to chase risk amid deepening turmoil in Greece and fears of contagion to other stressed euro zone economies.

Asian shares slumped on Wednesday after efforts to form a new government in Greece collapsed, fuelling fears that a second election in June could precipitate Athens' exit from the euro zone and deepen the bloc's debt crisis.

Asian shares fell to multi-month lows on Tuesday as investors sought refuge from the political turmoil that is fuelling fears of Greece's exit from the euro and threatening to undo progress made so far to solve the euro zone's debt crisis.

Investors should expect a rally in the Australian stock market, as the Aussie dollar slips below parity against the U.S. dollar, experts told CNBC.

Asian shares remained under pressure on Monday after talks to form a Greek government failed, with China's latest move to loosen monetary policy only adding to investor risk aversion as it underscored how Europe's plight is hampering global growth.

Asian shares slid on Friday, driving declines in other risk assets, as deepening euro zone political turmoil and weak economic data from China raised growth concerns, while a huge hedging loss from JPMorgan added to market jitters.

World No.3 miner Rio Tinto warned on Thursday that rising costs are the key challenge it faces but that would not deter it from expanding its highly profitable iron ore operations in Australia.