Reuters: Hot Stocks: Australia shares falter; NZ shares highest since Oct 2007

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Australia shares falter; NZ shares highest since Oct 2007 Jan 31st 2013, 06:05 Thu Jan 31, 2013 1:05am EST MELBOURNE, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Caution over stalled U.S. economic growth pulled Australian shares down 0.4 percent on Thursday, breaking a 10-day sequence of gains, the market's longest winning streak in more than nine years. Australian miners and retailers were lower, pulling the market down from 21-month highs after a 5.3 percent gain in January. "We do believe the bullish phase has longer to run," said Bob Van Munster, head of equities at Tyndall Investment Management. "Money is looking for a home to find yield and other returns and it's starting to gravitate toward equities," he said. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index fell 18 points to 4,878.8, according to the latest data. Still, broker CommSec revised up its forecasts for the Australian share market in 2013, projecting the S&P/ASX 200 index will rise to 5,300 points by the year-end, with an annual gain of 14 percent. "It does appear on current developments that we were too pessimistic," said Craig James, a strategist at CommSec. "Certainly 2013 has started with an air of optimism. U.S. politicians show some willingness to deal with problems, no fresh issues have emerged in Europe and the Chinese economy is exhibiting firmer growth. Volatility has receded with investors keen to put cash to work in other asset classes," he said. New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index rose 0.1 percent to 4,252.647, its highest since October 2007 on improved risk appetite, amid signs the local economy is picking up. Supermarket operator Woolworths Ltd fell 1.3 percent to A$31.24 after it reported a 2.5 percent rise in second-quarter same-store food and liquor sales, missing forecasts for a 2.8 percent rise, according to a Reuters survey of seven analysts. Pharmaceutical company Pharmaxis plunged 46 percent after it received a negative recommendation from a Committee advising the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on the use of Bronchitol for cystic fibrosis patients in the United States. Whitehaven Coal fell 5.5 percent to A$3.28 after it warned its earnings would be hit by problems with two sales contracts, weak prices, a strong Australian dollar and disruptions from a train derailment. Tigers Realm Coal jumped 10.5 percent to A$0.21 after upgrading its Amaan coking coal resource in Siberia, targeting annual output of 5 million tonnes. (Reporting by Miranda Maxwell; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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