Fortescue Ltd (FSUMF)

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Australian shares eased slightly, as banks edged lower, offsetting gains in miners following improved Chinese manufacturing data. Both the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 and the broader All Ordinaries indexes erased their early gains to end down about 0.1 percent each. BHP Billiton, the world's largest mining company whose fortunes are tied to China's economic growth and consumer demand, rose 1.5 percent, Rio Tinto added 1.2 percent and smaller rival Fortescue rallied 2.4 percent.

The big four banks, Commonwealth, NAB, Westpac and ANZ shed between 0.3 percent and 0.9 percent, spooked by weaker-than-expected building approvals and manufacturing data ahead of the Reserve Bank of Australia's rate-setting meeting tomorrow. Retail stocks also lost ground, with Woolworths, JB Hi-Fi and Myer falling 1-3 percent, while oil & gas firm Woodside gained 1.6 percent and Oil Search closed up a percent.

Australia's manufacturing activity contracted in March, pressured by a stronger currency and weak domestic demand, a private survey showed. The Australian Industry Group/PriceWaterhouseCoopers Australian Performance of Manufacturing Index fell 1.8 index points to 49.5 in the month after three months of growth.

Approvals for new homes, meanwhile, slumped a seasonally adjusted 7.8 per cent in February from the previous month, data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed, marking the steepest fall in approvals since November last year.