Australian shares fell 0.5 percent and were on course for the fifth straight day of falls as the toll from Japan's devastating earthquake unfolded, raising fears of the impact on industries
ranging from insurance to nuclear power.
ranging from insurance to nuclear power.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index [.AXJO 4611.3 
-15.104 (-0.33%)] was 21.6 points lower at 4,604.80.
-15.104 (-0.33%)] was 21.6 points lower at 4,604.80.Shares of Australia's uranium miners fell further. Paladinshares were down 4.8 percent in early trade while Energy Resources of Australia, a unit of global miner Rio Tinto fell 2.8 percent.
Extract Resources, which owns the Husab project, a promising 257-million pound resource that borders Rio Tinto's Rossing mine in the southern African nation of Namibia, dropped 3.9 percent.
Governments around the globe questioned the use of nuclear power since Japan's nuclear crisis begun to unfold after Friday's magnitude 8.9 earthquake.
Origin Energy was placed on trading halt. The company launched a $2.3 billion share sale to help pay down debt from its acquisition of two power businesses last year and fund further potential acquisitions.
New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index was flat at 3,361.0 in early trade.
The FTSE CNBC Asia 100 Index [.FTFCNBCA 6672.87 -66.83 (-0.99%)], which measures markets across Asia, was declined 1.7 percent.
-66.83 (-0.99%)], which measures markets across Asia, was declined 1.7 percent.© 2011 CNBC.com
