Reuters: Hot Stocks: Australia shares pulled down by energy, mining sectors

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 pulled down by energy, mining sectors Jul 25th 2013, 02:05 Wed Jul 24, 2013 10:05pm EDT (Adds analysis, quotes, stocks on the move) SYDNEY/WELLINGTON, July 25 (Reuters) - Australian shares fell 0.4 percent on Thursday morning, pulled down by falls in energy and mining stocks with investors turning cautious ahead of the local earnings season after the market's recent gains. Global miners BHP Billiton Ltd and Rio Tinto Ltd were down 1.2 percent and 1.5 percent respectively. Gold miners had a tough morning, hurt by a weaker spot gold price and longer-term corporate issues. Newcrest Mining Ltd, the world's third-biggest gold producer lost 3.5 percent is forecasting a flat year of gold output as it cuts operating costs, joining other miners bracing for weaker bullion markets. Smaller operator St Barbara Ltd slumped 18.9 percent after saying its gold operations in the Pacific did not meet expectations for the fiscal year. The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 19.9 points to 5,015.2 by 0128 GMT. The benchmark rose 0.4 percent on Wednesday, a third successive gain that took it to a two-month closing high. "(There's) a little bit of an easing coming through today in response to that fall on Wall Street overnight," said Juliette Saly, stock market analyst at Commonwealth Securities. "The market has been holding up quite well over the course of the week, so it's probably not too surprising that we're seeing a little bit of a pullback." The energy sector lost ground after oil prices fell, dragged by weak manufacturing data from China. Santos Ltd and Woodside Petroleum Ltd lost 1.9 percent and 0.7 percent respectively. U.S. stocks mostly retreated on Wednesday as losses in utility and commodity shares more than offset gains in the tech sector on Apple's solid earnings. New Zealand's benchmark NZ50 share index fell 0.4 percent. Among the biggest losers was the Fonterra Sharetrading Fund, which fell 3.5 percent to a four-week low of NZ$7.20 after the world's largest dairy exporter lowered its earnings forecast.. STOCKS ON THE MOVE * Salary packaging firm McMillan Shakespeare Ltd slumped as much as 56 percent to $A6.75, its lowest in nearly three years, after a one-week suspension following proposed tax changes for novated vehicle leases. (0126 GMT) * Macquarie Group Ltd lost 2.9 percent to A$44.40. Australia's top investment bank indicated it was on track to increase its full-year net profit from its operating businesses. (0126 GMT) * OZ Minerals Ltd dropped 6.3 percent to A$4.35 after saying production for the year was expected to be weighted to the second half, with annual copper production and cost guidance unchanged. (0126 GMT) (Reporting by Thuy Ong and Naomi Tajitsu; Editing by John Mair) 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