Reuters: Hot Stocks: Australia shares flat; banks offset downbeat local, China data

Reuters: Hot Stocks Reuters.com is your source for breaking news, business, financial and investing news, including personal finance and stocks. Reuters is the leading global provider of news, financial information and technology solutions to the world's media, financial institutions, businesses and individuals. // via fulltextrssfeed.com

Australia shares flat; banks offset downbeat local, China data Jun 3rd 2013, 02:44 Sun Jun 2, 2013 10:44pm EDT (Adds details, comments, stocks on the move) SYDNEY, June 3 (Reuters) - Australian shares came off two-month lows to trade flat on Monday, with strength in bank shares amid some speculation of an eventual rate cut offsetting weaker metal prices and disappointing local and Chinese data. Surveys showed a fall in Australian job ads in May and scant signs of any pick up in price pressures last month, offering the central bank scope to deliver another cut in interest rates if needed. "Our banks are posting strong gains. This morning's MI Inflation gauge reading suggests that inflation remains subdued, which will add weight to the RBA's easing bias and perhaps in turn reinvigorate the appeal of yield producers," said William Leys, premium client manager at CMC Markets. The S&P/ASX 200 index was up 3.2 points at 4,929.8 by 0233 GMT, after hitting its lowest point since April earlier in the session. The benchmark slipped 0.1 percent on Friday. Australia New Zealand Banking Group climbed 1.7 percent while Westpac Banking Corp surged 2.9 percent. But BHP Billiton Ltd dropped 1.3 percent and Rio Tinto Ltd fell 1.6 percent. Shanghai rebar futures racked up their worst monthly performance since August, reflecting slower demand in top consumer China, and traders are unsure if steel and iron ore prices have yet hit rock bottom. China's factory activity also shrank for the first time in seven months in May as both domestic and external demand softened, a private survey showed, adding to concerns that the world's second largest economy is losing momentum. U.S. stocks sold off in late trading to close sharply lower on Friday, with the S&P 500 posting consecutive weekly losses for the first time since November, as investors retreated after a seven-month run of gains. New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index climbed 0.9 percent or 40.8 points to 4,511.4. STOCKS ON THE MOVE * Cochlear Ltd dived 12.3 percent to a 15-month low of A$56.65. The world's biggest maker of hearing implants, warned its 2013 full-year net profit would fall as much as 18 percent hit by weaker sales in the second half and slower market growth in the United States. (0203 GMT) * Arrium Ltd lost 2.5 percent to A$0.785 after the company said it has refinanced $800 million of syndicated facilities due to mature in the second half of 2014. (0203 GMT) * Pharmaxis Ltd tumbled 3.2 percent to A$0.15 after saying the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has included one of its products on an import alert list. (0203 GMT) * Transpacific Industries Group Ltd tumbled 12.1 percent to A$0.782, its lowest price since early February, after saying its underlying net profit after tax (NPAT) will be between $46 and $53 million as manufacturing, industrial and construction market conditions in Australia remain weak. The company also announced its CEO has quit. (0204 GMT) (Reporting by Thuy Ong; Editing by Edwina Gibbs) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to this feed at blogtrottr.com. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, you can unsubscribe from this feed, or manage all your subscriptions