MELBOURNE, Oct 10 - Australian shares may ease from 14-monthhighs on Wednesday after U.S. stocks fell on concerns overthird-quarter earnings, although energy companies may be boostedby a sharp rise in oil prices.
* Local share price index futures
fell 0.8 percent,or 34 points to 4,475, a 30.3-point discount to the underlyingS&P/ASX 200 index
close. The benchmark rose 0.5 percentto 4,505.3 on Tuesday.
* New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index
fell 0.4percent to 3,892.9 points in early trade.
* U.S. stocks fell as worries increased about third-quarterU.S. earnings.
* Energy companies such as Woodside Petroleum
maygain after benchmark Brentgained more than 2 percent totop $114 a barrel for the first time since Sept. 18.
* Mining stocks may fall after Rio Tinto
Chief
Executive Tom Albanese said the company would step up cost cutsbecause of an uncertain near-term outlook.
"We are more cautious on the outlook for the next fewquarters for our business than we would have been a couple ofmonths ago," Albanese said in London.
.
* Copper prices were little changed while gold fell for athird consecutive session as a warning by the InternationalMonetary Fund on global growth and worries about a slowingChinese economy lessened bullion's appeal as an inflation hedge.
----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2218 GMT ------------
INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHGS&P 5001441.48 -0.99% -14.400USD/JPY78.25 0.03% 0.02010-YR US TSY YLD1.7132 -- 0.000SPOT GOLD1764.39 0.04% 0.740US CRUDE92.22 -0.18% -0.170DOW JONES13473.53 -0.81% -110.12ASIA ADRS118.12 -1.34% -1.61-------------------------------------------------------------
* Wall St falls in tech-led sell-off, Alcoa up late
* Oil rises 2 pct on Mideast tension, Saudi comments eyed
* Gold drops for third day on worries of slowdown
* Copper steady; fears offset China stimulus hopes
For a digest of the day's business stories in Australiannewspapers, double click on
(Reporting by Miranda Maxwell; Editing by John Mair)
((miranda.maxwell@reuters.com)(Reuters Messaging:miranda.maxwell.reuters.com@reuters.net)(+61-3 9286-1464))
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