Reuters: Hot Stocks: Australia shares down, miners down; strong jobs reduce rate cut chance

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Australia shares down, miners down; strong jobs reduce rate cut chance Mar 14th 2013, 01:58 Wed Mar 13, 2013 9:58pm EDT (Adds details, comments, stocks on the move) SYDNEY, March 14 (Reuters) - Australian shares fell 0.4 percent on Thursday as weaker iron ore prices dragged miners, while sentiment was also hurt on reduced chances of an interest rate cut following a strong jobs report. "The mining sector is really dragging the market lower," said Evan Lucas, market strategist at IG Markets, noting that iorn ore prices fell 3 percent overnight. The lower iron ore prices led BHP Billiton Ltd down 1.7 percent while rival Rio Tinto Ltd lost 1.5 percent. Steel producers also attracted selling interest with Fortescue Metals Group slumping 5.8 percent while Arrium dropped 4.8 percent. Spot iron ore prices hit their lowest since late December on Wednesday, as steel mills in top market China slow purchases, prompting some traders to unload stocks of the raw material. The S&P/ASX 200 index was down 16.6 points at 5,075.8 by 0106 GMT. The index fell 0.6 percent on Thursday. A robust employment report failed to boost the market. Australian jobs soared by 71,500 in February, far past any forecast and the biggest monthly increase in over a decade, the strongest sign yet that lower interest rates and rising asset prices are fuelling an economic pick up. Lucas said the market is now going through a correction, adding that buying in the market was partly curtailed by the reduced chance of a rate cut after the jobs report. The market has enjoyed a bull-run since November last year and has risen 8.5 percent this year on the back of a strong earnings season and an improving outlook for the global economy. Myer Holdings Ltd jumped 3.8 percent to a 22-month high of A$3.01 after Australia's top department store posted better-than-expected first half earnings. Rival retailer David Jones slipped 0.2 percent while electronic goods retailer Harvey Norman lost 0.4 percent. Financials were weaker. Westpac Banking Corp fell 0.6 percent, the biggest decliner among the big four banks. Defensives were firmer, with Coles-owner Wesfarmers Ltd adding 0.5 percent while rival Woolworths Ltd climbed 0.6 percent. . New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index rallied 0.9 percent, or 38.4 points, hitting a fresh all-time high of 4,379.6. STOCKS ON THE MOVE * Aurizon Holdings Ltd rallied 1.6 percent to A$4.04 after the company secured a contract with Xstrata supporting a mine expansion at Rolleston. (0109 GMT) * Aurora Oil & Gas jumped 1.7 percent to A$3.64 after it announced plans to commence a private offering of up to $250 million in aggregate principal amount of senior unsecured notes due in 2020. (0110 GMT) (Reporting by Michael Sin and Thuy Ong; Editing by Shri Navaratnam) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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