Reuters: Hot Stocks: Australian shares fall on weak China growth, rout in commodities

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Australian shares fall on weak China growth, rout in commodities Apr 16th 2013, 01:51 Mon Apr 15, 2013 9:51pm EDT (Adds details, comments, stocks on the move) SYDNEY, April 16 (Reuters) - Australian shares fell 0.6 percent on Tuesday, extending their previous day's losses as gold miners slumped after growth in top metals consumer China unexpectedly stumbled in the first quarter and gold prices collapsed. The bombing of the Boston Marathon, where two people were killed and dozens injured in what a White House official called an "act of terror", also hurt market sentiment. "I think the underlying driver is markets around the world are making an adjustment to some of the major commodity markets," said Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC Markets. "They're now forecasting that the decline in commodity prices looks as though it might be happening sooner and that's going a bit deeper than analysts had previously forecast." The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 31.4 points to 4,936.5 by 0131 GMT. The benchmark fell 0.9 percent on Monday, its biggest one-day loss since March 18. The broad rout in commodities, led by gold tumbling another $125 per ounce on Monday in its biggest-ever daily loss, weighed on sentiment. Earlier on Tuesday, cash gold and U.S. gold futures extended losses and plunged to their weakest in more than two years as investors dumped their holdings on fears about central bank sales and worries about global growth. Gold miners were routed. Evolution Mining Ltd sank 18.9 percent, Newcrest Mining Ltd lost 5.8 percent and Regis Resources Ltd slumped 8.9 percent. Global miners BHP Billiton Ltd and Rio Tinto Ltd dropped 1.5 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively. Copper fell to its lowest price in 1-1/2 years on Monday, joining a wide retreat in commodities as disappointing Chinese economic data reinforced concerns over prospects for metals demand. The news of slowing growth in China, Australia's biggest export market, provided a catalyst for selling stocks further, Spooner said. China's economic recovery unexpectedly stumbled in the first three months of 2013 with slowing factory output and investment spending forcing analysts to start slashing full-year forecasts. Defensives were firmer, helping to contain broader losses. Biotechnology company CSL Ltd climbed 1.3 percent while top telecommunications giant Telstra Ltd edged up 0.3 percent. U.S. stocks posted their worst day since Nov. 7 on Monday as big declines in the price of gold, oil and other commodities fed a broad selloff in equities. New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index fell 0.9 percent or 38.9 points to 4,415.8. STOCKS ON THE MOVE * Benitec Biopharma Limited was trading flat after the biotechnology company said it had selected the University of California as a site for its clinical trial of TT-034 in patients with hepatitis C infections. (0131 GMT) * Shares in Elementos Ltd were in a trading halt pending an announcement regarding its tin and tungsten project. (0131 GMT) * Shares in Kalgoorlie Mining Company Ltd were also in a trading halt pending an announcement regarding a corporate transaction. (0131 GMT) (Reporting by Thuy Ong; Editing by Shri Navaratnam) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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