Aussie property giant stock shares halted

SYDNEY, Jan. 11 (UPI) -- Shares of the Centro group, Australia's second-largest owner of shopping centers, were pulled from stock market trading in Sydney Friday.

The action reportedly came amid growing concerns the property giant was going under.

Reflecting the global credit crisis sparked by the subprime mortgage meltdown in the United States, senior management of Centro Properties Group and Centro Retail Group placed both in a trading halt as value dropped on the Australian market, the Australian reported.

The Australian stock market fell 1.6 percent Friday, 5 percent below its level of a week ago. This was despite New York's Dow Jones industrial index posting a 1 percent gain Thursday night. Since Tuesday, the U.S market has risen 2.1 percent, while the value of Australian shares has fallen 2.4 percent.

Three of Australia's largest banks defied Treasurer Wayne Swan and raised their interest rates by more than the amount he had defined as reasonable.