Reuters: Hot Stocks: Australia shares fall to 4-1/2 mth low on Fed stimulus worries

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Australia shares fall to 4-1/2 mth low on Fed stimulus worries Jun 6th 2013, 01:52 Tweet Share this Email Print Wed Jun 5, 2013 9:52pm EDT (Adds market performance details, analyst comments, stocks on the move) SYDNEY, June 6 (Reuters) - Australian shares fell 1.0 percent to a four-and-a-half month low in late morning trade on Thursday, hit by losses on Wall Street as worries grew that the U.S. Federal Reserve may scale back its stimulus earlier than the market had anticipated. Investors became increasingly worried about what the Fed could do with the bond-buying scheme while the economy is still sluggish, Credit Suisse equity strategist Damien Boey said. "It means the Fed is between a rock and a hard place ... There is not really much they can do," Boey said. Japan's Nikkei fell below 13,000 for the first time in two months, further souring sentiment in Australia, CMC Markets chief market strategist Michael McCarthy said. The S&P/ASX 200 index lost 45.8 points to 4,789.4 by 0128 GMT, extending a 1.3 percent fall on Wednesday. The index is now trading at its lowest levels since mid-January. Australian stocks also have been hit by concerns over slowing growth in China and volatility in Japanese equities. Major banks were mostly weaker, with the biggest lender Commonwealth Bank of Australia losing 0.7 percent. National Australia Bank Ltd pared earlier losses and edged up 0.2 percent. Global miner BHP Billiton Ltd lost ground and eased 0.3 percent, while rival Rio Tinto Ltd dropped 1.0 percent. Defensives were weaker on broad-based selling across the market. Consumer staples Woolworths Ltd and Wesfarmers Ltd fell 0.4 percent and 0.9 percent respectively. Blood products maker CSL Ltd slipped 0.7 percent and the country's biggest telecommunications provider Telstra Ltd lost 0.4 percent. New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index fell 1.2 percent to 4,398.8. STOCKS ON THE MOVE * Australia's flagship airline Qantas Airways Ltd gained 0.8 percent to A$1.49, after it said Hong Kong's Shun Tak Holdings Ltd will join Qantas and China Eastern Airlines as investors in Jetstar Hong Kong, taking a 33.3 percent share. (0127 GMT) * Fairfax Media Ltd slid 4.2 percent to A$0.58, after it said it would make changes to its media business and expected the restructure to save an additional A$60 million by the end of September. (0126 GMT) * Australia's biggest listed gold miner Newcrest Mining Ltd slumped 5.2 percent to an eight-year low of A$13.61, after gold edged to below $1,400 an ounce on Thursday. Gold dropped as India, the world's biggest bullion consumer, raised import duty on the metal by a third to reduce its current account deficit. (0124 GMT) (Reporting by Maggie Lu Yueyang; Editing by Stephen Coates) Tweet this Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints Comments (0) Be the first to comment on reuters.com. Add yours using the box above.

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