Reuters: Hot Stocks: Australian shares fall, European risk worries hits sentiment

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Australian shares fall, European risk worries hits sentiment Mar 26th 2013, 00:41 Mon Mar 25, 2013 8:41pm EDT (Adds details, comments, stocks on the move) SYDNEY, March 26 (Reuters) - Australian shares fell 0.8 percent on Tuesday as investors sold mining and financial stocks in response to weak metal prices and renewed worries about the prospects for Cyprus and the eurozone. Top lender the Commonwealth Bank of Australia posted the biggest loss among banks, down 0.8 percent. Blue chip miners BHP Billiton Ltd and Rio Tinto Ltd lost 1.1 percent and 1.9 percent respectively. The S&P/ASX 200 index lost 41.5 points to 4,948.7 by 0019 GMT. The benchmark rose 0.5 percent on Monday. A rescue programme agreed for Cyprus on Monday represents a new template for resolving euro zone banking problems and other countries may have to restructure their banking sectors, the head of the region's finance ministers said. "The market had been positioned for a good result on Cyprus, they got it and now there's profit taking," said Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC Markets. "Bearing in mind that a crisis has been averted, it's still either the overall situation is just a reminder of the risk involved in Europe. The rescue process was fraught with politics and a risk that it would fall over, and people were contemplating that this morning." Elsewhere, defensives were weaker in midday trade. Top telecommunications provider Telstra Ltd and blood products maker CSL Ltd fell 0.6 percent. Supermarket giant Woolworths Ltd lost 0.7 percent while Wesfarmers , owner of rival Coles, slipped 0.5 percent. Gold miners were weaker after bullion fell in heavy trade overnight as the bailout deal for Cyprus decreased the metal's safe-haven appeal. Newcrest Mining Ltd fell 1 percent, while rival Regis Resources Ltd dropped 2.5 percent. Oil miners also fell, with Santos down 0.9 percent and Oil Search Ltd slipping 0.4 percent. New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index inched up 0.2 percent, or 8.1 points, to 4,348.8. STOCKS ON THE MOVE * Top Australian airliner Qantas slipped 0.2 percent to A$1.72 after the Australian competition and consumer commission authorised coordination of its budget airline Jetstar's joint ventures. (0019 GMT) * Transfield Services was down 1.8 percent to A$1.83 after it was awarded a $170 million contract with NBN Co as part of Australia's $37 billion national broadband network project. (0019 GMT) * Lemur Resources Ltd fell 2.8 percent to A$0.07 after the company announced the resignation of its chairman. (0020 GMT) (Reporting by Thuy Ong; Editing by Paul Tait) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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