April 21 (Reuters) - Australian stocks fell a percent on Wednesday, extending losses into a second straight session, as travel stocks dropped after a new COVID-19 case in New Zealand sparked worries of a pause in the trans-Tasman quarantine-free travel.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO was down 0.7% to 6,968.1 by 0030 GMT. It fell as much as 1% to mark its worst intraday drop in about five weeks.
A new case of the novel coronavirus detected at Auckland airport comes just a day after the country opened a travel bubble with Australia. pulled down ASX-listed travel stocks, with Qantas Airways QAN.AX falling 2.8% and Sydney Airport Holdings SYD.AX slipping 1.3%. Flight Centre Travel FLT.AX and Helloworld Travel HLO.AX shed about 2% and 1.5%, respectively.
In other markets, Japan's Nikkei .N225 dropped 1.56% to 28,631.87. The S&P 500 E-minis futures EScv1 were down 0.13%, while all three major U.S. indexes closed lower overnight. .T .N
In Australia, the top percentage gainers on the benchmark were Corporate Travel Management CTD.AX , up 4.52%, followed by IDP Education IEL.AX , gaining 2.92%, and Hub24 HUB.AX , up 2.58%.
Heavyweight miners .AXMM fell 1.5%. Lithium miners Galaxy Resources GXY.AX and Orocobre ORE.AX were the biggest losers on the index, falling nearly 6% each. ore giant BHP Group BHP.AX fell more than 2% after it reported a slight drop in its third-quarter output. However, it expects iron ore production at the upper end of its forecast range for full-year. index .AXEJ fell 2.1%, led by Beach Energy BPT.AX , down 2.8% and Ampol ALD.AX , losing 1.3%. Oil prices dropped from their one-month highs on fears that world's third-biggest oil importer India may impose new restrictions. O/R
In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 fell 0.4% to 12,628.8.
The top percentage losers on the benchmark are Auckland International Airport AIA.NZ , down 2%, followed by Australia and New Zealand Banking Group ANZ.NZ , losing 1.7%, and Meridian Energy MEL.NZ , down 1.6%.