Reuters: Hot Stocks: Australia shares slip on weak commodities, caution ahead of data

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Australia shares slip on weak commodities, caution ahead of data Apr 3rd 2013, 05:39 Wed Apr 3, 2013 1:39am EDT (Adds details, comments) SYDNEY, April 3 (Reuters) - Weakness in commodity prices wiped out early gains for Australian shares on Wednesday, leaving them down 0.6 percent in spite of a rally in some global markets as investors await key data from the U.S. and Europe due later this week. Global miners BHP Billiton Ltd and Rio Tinto Ltd dropped 1.5 percent and 2 percent respectively. "There's been an underlying negative tone in Asia today, despite a positive U.S. and European lead," said Chris Weston, chief market strategist at IG Markets. The S&P/ASX 200 index lost 27.8 points to finish the session at 4,957.7. The benchmark rose 0.4 percent on Tuesday. "Traders for the most part today showed a reluctance to open or extend long positions with so much 'event risk' waiting in the wings for the remainder of the week," said Tim Waterer, senior trader at CMC Markets. Risk events include central bank meetings in Europe and key U.S. employment readings, he said. "The market is assessing the possibility of a pullback should the upcoming events on the global economic calendar appear unsupportive for market extension beyond the current elevated levels," Waterer said. Gold miners slipped after bullion fell 1.5 percent on Tuesday, the biggest one-day drop in more than a month, as stronger equities undermined gold's safe-haven appeal. Newcrest Mining Ltd lost 3 percent and Regis Resources Ltd dropped 5.7 percent. Sentiment was also hit as official data showed sales of new homes in Australia fell 5.3 percent in February to end a four-month string of gains and deal a blow to hopes for a much needed pick-up in home building, industry statistics showed on Wednesday. Financials were mixed. Australia and New Zealand Banking Group plumbed 1.9 percent and top lender Commonwealth Bank of Australia fell 0.74 percent. Meanwhile, Westpac Banking Corp added 0.4 percent and National Australia Bank gained 0.5 percent. Big energy firm Santos dropped 2.1 percent and Origin Energy finished the session flat. Telecommunication stocks helped cap broader market losses, with Telstra Ltd climbing 1.3 percent. Consumer retailers Woolworths Ltd shed 0.7 percent and rival Wesfarmers Ltd slipped 0.1 percent. Woodside Petroleum Ltd lost 0.6 percent as the company said its A$40 billion Browse gas project could be delayed by up to a decade if a final investment decision isn't been reached by June. Shares in Australia's Lynas Corp finished the session down 2 percent to A$0.495. Lynas, which is fighting legal challenges to its main Malaysian rare earth processing plant, sank as far as A$0.485, its lowest since June 2010. Australia's trade deficit shrank by much more than expected in February to its smallest in 14 months, thanks to higher prices for resource exports, a likely boost to profits and incomes that also gave the local dollar a lift. U.S. stocks rose to close at another record high on Tuesday, led by the healthcare sector after the government dropped plans to cut payments for some insurers, while factory orders data confirmed the economy is steadily improving. Growth in China's services sector rebounded in March to hit a six-month high of 54.3 after improving economic conditions increased business and boosted confidence, a private survey showed on Wednesday. New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index finished the session flat, up 1.4 points to 4,412.8. (Reporting by Thuy Ong; Editing by Richard Borsuk) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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