Australia shares fall 0.6 percent, miners weak

SYDNEY, Apr 3:  Weakness in commodity prices wiped out early gains for Australian shares on Wednesday, leaving them down 0.6 percent in spite of a rally in some global markets.
Global miners BHP Billiton Ltd and Rio Tinto Ltd dropped 1.5 percent and 2 percent respectively.
The S&P/ASX 200 index lost 27.8 points to close at 4,957.7, according to latest available figures. The benchmark rose 0.4 percent on Tuesday.
New Zealand’s benchmark NZX 50 index finished the session flat, up 1.4 points to 4,412.8.

(AGENCIES)