Reuters: Hot Stocks: Australian shares slip on profit-taking; banks fall, miners jump

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Australian shares slip on profit-taking; banks fall, miners jump Apr 10th 2013, 06:50 Wed Apr 10, 2013 2:50am EDT (Adds details, comments) SYDNEY, April 10 (Reuters) - Australian shares closed down 0.2 percent on Wednesday after a rally in resources, driven by higher iron ore prices, was offset by a retreat in financial shares as investors booked profits. All four big Australian banks lost ground with Westpac Banking Corp slipping 1.2 percent and Commonwealth Bank of Australia down 1.0 percent. "Banks are having a bit of profit-taking day," said Evan Lucas, a market strategist at IG Markets in Melbourne. "But why the ASX is also negative is because their weighting is so big on the market here," he added, noting that financials make about 34 percent of the index. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index shed 8.8 points to 4,968.0, according to the latest data. The index jumped 1.5 percent on Tuesday, its largest single-day rise in three weeks. Global miners BHP Billiton Ltd and Rio Tinto Ltd advanced 1.7 percent and 2.7 percent respectively. Fortescue Metals Group gained 3.7 percent. OZ Minerals Ltd led the advance in gold miners, surging 6.6 percent to post the biggest one-day percentage gain since September 2011. Resources stocks look cheaper after the sell-off earlier this year, said Credit Suisse equity strategist Damien Boey. "They've become very cheap. People are looking for any sign of stability in world growth or China as maybe a sign to buy some of the cheaper stocks," Boey said, noting stabilizing commodities prices also helped miners. China, Australia's biggest trading partner, record a mild trade deficit of $884 million in March as a forecast-busting 14.1 percent year on year surge in imports eclipsed export growth of 10 percent. The Chinese trade data justified the strong play of resources in the Australian market, but failed to lift the index significantly. "Perhaps just a moderately positive reaction to the figures but nothing really of significance," said Steven Daghlian, a market analyst at Commonwealth Securities in Sydney. BILLABONG DIVES Defensive stocks were mostly weaker, as supermarket chain Woolworths Ltd and rival Wesfarmers Ltd declined 1.1 percent and 0.9 percent respectively. Shares in Billabong International Ltd, which had been on a trading halt since last week, plunged 26.7 percent, after the company said it was in talks over a takeover proposal valuing it at around $300 million, 45 percent lower than indicative offers. A measure of Australian consumer confidence fell in April to end three months of solid gains, a reminder of how brittle the mood can be despite low interest rates and a brighter global background. Blood products maker CSL Ltd lost 0.6 percent, and the country's biggest phone company Telstra Corp Ltd dipped 0.2 percent. Energy stocks were mixed, with gas explorer Woodside Petroleum Ltd down 1.2 percent and Origin Energy Ltd inching up 0.5 percent. Beach Energy Ltd jumped 3.9 percent after the oil explorer said it signed major gas sales agreement with Origin Energy. New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index rose 0.6 percent or 24.9 points to 4,420.0. (Reporting by Maggie Lu Yueyang; Additional reporting by Michael Sin; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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