Aussie shares seen down after Dow hits 6-year low

MELBOURNE, Feb 20 - Australian stocks are expected to fall on Friday after the U.S. Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> dropped to a more than six-year low on uncertainty over the fate of major banks and signs the recession is deepening.

Australia's March share price index futures <YAPcm1> fell 13 points to settle at 3,387.0, a 61.9-point discount to Thursday's 3,448.9 close in the underlying benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index <.AXJO>.

Australian central bank governor Glenn Stevens will brief the House Economics Committee with a semi-annual testimony to parliament on Friday.

Among companies reporting earnings on Friday are oil refiner Caltex Australia <CTX.AX> and New Zealand broadcaster Sky TV <SKT.NZ>.

New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index <.NZ50> fell 0.5 percent or 12.69 points to 2,604.2 in early trade. ----------------------MARKET SNAPSHOT @ 2139 GMT ------------

INSTRUMENT LAST PCT CHG NET CHG S&P 500 <.SPX> 778.94 -1.2% -9.480 USD/JPY <JPY=> 94.27 0.53% 0.500 10-YR US TSY YLD <US10YT=RR> 2.8695 -- 0.102 SPOT GOLD <XAU=> 974.15 -1.05% -10.350 US CRUDE <CLc1> 38.81 12.10% 4.190 DOW JONES <.DJI> 7465.95 -1.19% -89.68 ASIA ADRS <.BKAS> 82.12 -0.42% -0.35 ------------------------------------------------------------- * Wall St slides as Dow close marks 6-yr low [.N] * Oil jumps 14 pct on U.S. inventory drop [O/R] * Gold ends lower but investment buying noted [GOL/] * Copper gains as dollar dips, but demand outlook poor[MET/L]

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