Reuters: Hot Stocks: Australian shares fall ahead of U.S. jobs report; Newcrest plunges

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Australian shares fall ahead of U.S. jobs report; Newcrest plunges Jun 7th 2013, 02:05 Thu Jun 6, 2013 10:05pm EDT (Adds market performance details, analyst comments, stocks on the move) SYDNEY, June 7 (Reuters) - Australian shares fell 0.8 percent early on Friday following a volatile day on Wall Street, with selling in banks and resource stocks led by Newcrest Mining Ltd, which plunged to a 9-year low. The S&P/ASX 200 index lost 38.1 points to 4,743.1 by 0155 GMT, on track to post a fourth straight weekly fall. On Thursday, the benchmark fell 1.1 percent to a 4-1/2-month low. Analysts said investors were cautious ahead of the release of the U.S. jobs report later in the day, which could provide clues about the future of the U.S. central bank's stimulus measures. "Selling pressure will probably be restrained ahead of the employment data out of the U.S. tonight as it could very well go either way," said William Leys, premium client manager at CMC Markets. Flagship miners BHP Billiton Ltd and Rio Tinto Ltd tumbled 2 percent and 1.8 percent after copper slid as much as 2 percent from a two-week high on concerns the U.S. central bank might roll back its stimulus programme soon. The financial sector was mixed, top lender Commonwealth Bank of Australia fell 0.8 percent. Meanwhile, Westpac Banking Corp and Australia's fourth largest bank, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group both added 0.5 percent. Only 249 million shares had traded hands by 0154 GMT, which was much lower than the average level. "The trading volume is very light, so there is not huge conviction on the sell side at the moment," said Macquarie Private Wealth division director Martin Lakos. Australian stocks have also been hit recently by concerns over volatility in Japanese equities and slowing demand from top resources consumer China. Newcrest fell more than 14 percent at the open and last traded 8.8 percent lower at A$12.17, after it said it would write down its asset values by up to $6 billion in response to the worst slide in gold prices in 30 years. Gold miners Regis Resources Ltd and Medusa Mining Ltd lost 1.8 percent and 6.4 percent, respectively. Elsewhere, defensives were trading lower. Insurance firm QBE Insurance Ltd dropped 3.2 percent while consumer staples Woolworths Ltd and Wesfarmers Ltd fell 0.8 percent and 0.6 percent, respectively. The U.S. non-farm payrolls report is due on Friday, followed by a slew of China economic data for May including trade, inflation, urban investment, industrial output and retail sales over the weekend. New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index slipped 0.1 percent to 4,449.3. STOCKS ON THE MOVE * NEXTDC Ltd soared 12.1 percent to all-time highs of A$2.59 after being awarded a contract for the provision of data centre services. (0157 GMT) * Bathurst Resources Ltd jumped 1.1 percent to A$0.18 after winning an appeal in the high court. (0157 GMT) (Reporting by Maggie Lu Yueyang and Thuy Ong; Editing by Kim Coghill) Link this Share this Digg this Email Reprints

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