Feb. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index fell for a second day on concern future corporate earnings growth doesn't justify share prices of companies such as Macquarie Bank Ltd. and Aristocrat Leisure Ltd.

``When you look at the share-price performance of some stocks, it's no surprise some investors are getting a bit nervous when results come in at not much more than forecasts,'' said Steven Marsh, who manages the equivalent of $350 million at Trust Co. of Australia Ltd. in Sydney.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index dropped 23.50, or 0.6 percent, to 4129.80 as of 2:49 p.m. in Sydney. About four stocks fell for every one that gained.

The benchmark has fallen 1.4 percent from its record high on Feb. 7 when the profit reporting season began. It has gained 25 percent since the beginning of last year, amid Australia's 14th consecutive year of economic growth. Profit growth in 2004 was the best in more than a decade, according to AMP Capital Investors in Sydney.

Macquarie Bank, the nation's biggest publicly listed investment bank, slid A$1.36, or 2.7 percent, to A$48.64. It's dropped 6.3 percent from yesterday's record intraday high of A$51.95. The company said on Feb. 20 its 2005 earnings will be at least 40 percent higher than the A$494 million ($389 million) it earned in 2004.

Aristocrat Leisure Ltd., the best performing member of the benchmark index since the start of 2004, fell 31 cents, or 2.9 percent, to A$10.23. Shares of the world's second-largest maker of slot machines have fallen 6 percent since the company reported a record second-half profit on Feb. 22.

Michael Nolan, an analyst at Morgan Stanley in Melbourne, cut his rating on Aristocrat to ``equalweight'' from ``overweight,'' citing the stock's outperformance. ``Time is right for the stock to take a breather,'' Nolan said in a note to clients.

Perpetual Trustees Australia Ltd., an asset manager, slid A$2.69, or 4.3 percent, to A$59.34. Its shares surged 48 percent last year. The company today said first-half profit rose 58 percent as surging stock markets boosted earnings from its wealth management business.

``Perpetual's performance is tied to the stockmarket, and if investors are worried about the stockmarket then it's one of the stocks they will sell first,'' Trust Co.'s Marsh said.

New Zealand's NZSX 50 Index slid 0.4 percent to 3149.53 as of 4:47 p.m. in Wellington. Feltex Carpets Ltd., New Zealand's largest carpet maker, dropped.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index's futures contract for March slid 0.7 percent to 4115. The broader All Ordinaries Index fell 0.6 percent to 4111.80.

The following stocks also rose or fell. The stock symbols are in brackets after the company names.

Australian stocks:

Insurers: Promina Group Ltd. (PMN AU), Australia's second- biggest general insurer, fell 22 cents, or 4.2 percent, to A$4.98. The shares extended their decline after the company yesterday reported higher-than-expected asbestos-related claims.

Insurance Australia Group Ltd. (IAG AU), the nation's biggest general insurer, and QBE Insurance Group Ltd. (QBE AU), which gets almost a third of its premium income at Lloyd's of London, also fell after Promina Chief Executive Mike Wilkins said prices for commercial insurance are falling amid ``increasing competitive pressure.''

Insurance Australia slid 16 cents, or 2.5 percent, to A$6.31. QBE dropped 24 cents, or 1.6 percent, to A$14.87.

Iron ore-related stocks: Brazil's Cia. Vale do Rio Doce, the world's largest iron ore producer, yesterday won a record 71.5 percent price increase from Japan's two biggest steelmakers as surging demand from Chinese steel mills caused shortages of raw materials. The steelmakers say they are continuing talks with BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto Group.

Rio Tinto (RIO AU), the world's second-biggest iron-ore producer, gained 83 cents, or 1.9 percent, to A$45.22. BHP (BHP AU), the world's biggest miner, rose 63 cents, or 3.6 percent, to A$18.35.

Portman Ltd. (PMM AU), Australia's third-largest iron ore exporter, climbed 26 cents, or 7.5 percent, to A$3.74. The company said it's considering Cleveland-Cliffs Inc.'s $465 million takeover offer for the company after CVRD's iron-ore deal.

BlueScope Steel Ltd. (BSL AU), the nation's biggest steelmaker, fell 30 cents, or 2.9 percent, to A$9.64 on concern raw materials costs may rise. ``Steelmakers everywhere could face the same price hike and the question is whether they will be able to pass on these cost increases to their customers,'' said Lucinda Chan, Head of Asian Business at Macquarie Equities Ltd. in Sydney.

Austral Coal Ltd. (AUO AU) surged 11 cents, or 11 percent, to A$1.13. Centennial Coal Co. (CEY AU) agreed to buy Austral Coal for A$289.7 million to expand into selling coal to steelmakers and create Australia's third-largest publicly traded coal company. Centennial gained 13 cents, or 3.2 percent, to A$4.20.

CSL Ltd. (CSL AU) rose A$1.16 cents, or 3.8 percent, to A$31.95. The world's second-largest maker of blood products said first-half net income rose six-fold following its acquisition of a blood products company. It announced a 5 percent share buyback and raised its profit forecast to as much as A$295 million from A$270 million in October.

Lihir Gold Ltd. (LHG AU) added 2 cents, or 1.9 percent, to A$1.10. The Papua New Guinea miner, part-owned by Rio Tinto Group, said full-year profit rose nine-fold to $329.2 million after it revalued its assets.

Macquarie Airports (MAP AU) climbed 6 cents, or 1.9 percent, to A$3.23. The world's second-largest non-government airport operator said full-year profit more than doubled to A$864.6 million.

Mayne Group Ltd. (MAY AU), Australia's largest maker of generic drugs that are injected, plunged 28 cents, or 6.2 percent, to A$4.24. The company left its full-year profit forecast unchanged and reported manufacturing delays.

Margins are ``significantly below'' those reported by Sonic Healthcare Ltd. (SHL AU), which leads Mayne as Australia's biggest pathology company, said Albert Peker, who manages the equivalent of $2.6 billion at HSBC Asset Management in Melbourne. Sonic rose 31 cents, or 2.6 percent, to A$12.17.

Pacific Brands Ltd. (PBG AU) sank 26 cents, or 8.5 percent, to A$2.79. Australia's largest maker of underwear reported a A$33.3 million first-half profit. The company described its result as positive ``in a subdued retail market where December sales finished below expectations.''

Stockland (SGP AU), Australia's third-largest real estate investment trust, climbed 7 cents, or 1.2 percent, to A$5.76. The company said it will let its A$7 billion takeover bid for General Property Trust (GPT AU) lapse after it failed to win support from investors.

``Stockland is doing what the market wanted them to do,'' said Simon Wheatley, a property analyst at Goldman Sachs JBWere Ltd. in Sydney. Shareholders ``didn't want them to come back with a higher bid that would have made an expensive purchase and diluted their earnings.'' General Property lost 7 cents, or 1.8 percent, to A$3.74.

Transurban Group (TCL AU) declined 12 cents, or 1.7 percent, to A$7.17. The company that runs Melbourne's only toll road said its first-half loss widened 22 percent to A$42.1 million.

New Zealand:

Feltex Carpets Ltd. (FTX NZ), New Zealand's largest carpet maker, dropped 5 cents, or 3 percent, to NZ$1.64. The company lowered its forecast for full-year sales to NZ$310 million ($255.4 million) from NZ$315 million because of the rise in the New Zealand dollar.

Warehouse Group Ltd. (WHS NZ), New Zealand's biggest retailer, rose 8 cents, or 1.9 percent, to NZ$4.37. The company added managers at its New Zealand department stores, which make up more than 90 percent of earnings.

To contact the reporter for this story: Stuart Kelly in Sydney skelly22@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: February 22, 2005 23:09 EST