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Australian shares open lower

SYDNEY - Australian share prices opened 0.63 percent lower Tuesday after Wall Street fell in volatile overnight trade driven by global recession fears.

The benchmark S&P/ASX200 lost 23.9 points to 3785.3 within the first 10 minutes of trading, while the broader All Ordinaries was down 20.3 at 3748.0.

Banks and energy stocks led the market down, but major miners opened up on firming commodity prices, dealers said.

‘BHP and Rio are carrying the market to some extent, so far,’ said ABN Amro Morgans private client adviser Bill Bishop.

‘There's no cause to put our hands up and cheer as yet, but our banks are in better shape than others and resources stocks remain strong,’ Bishop said.

The world's biggest miner, BHP Billiton, added 2.3 percent to 25.19 dollars (15.11 US dollars), while Rio Tinto rose 2.8 percent to 66.48.

Among major banks, ANZ shares fell 29 cents to 16.71, National Australia Bank dropped 60 cents to 23.32 and Commonwealth Bank was down 36 cents at 39.66.

Lower oil prices pushed energy stocks down, with Woodside Petroleum falling 60 cents to 36.30, Oil Search off four cents at 3.11 and Santos down 33 cents at 11.42.

In New York on Monday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 203.18 points or 2.42 percent to end at 8,175.77 in a choppy session after Asian markets took another drubbing on fears of a global recession.