SYDNEY, July 8: Australian shares slipped 0.3 percent after a choppy start to the session today, as gains on Wall Street after a better-than-expected non-farm payrolls report was offset by falling metals prices.
Global miners dragged on the market. BHP Billiton Ltd and Rio Tinto Ltd tumbled 1.7 percent and 2 percent. Newcrest Mining Ltd, Australia’s top gold miner, plunged 6.5 percent while Regis Resources Ltd dived 11.2 percent.
‘Our market is resource focused and that’s why we’re not tracking higher as our US counterpart,’ said Tim Waterer, senior dealer at CMC Markets.
Copper and gold tumbled on Friday as data showed US employers added more jobs than expected in June, rekindling worries the Federal Reserve could be tempted to scale back its monetary stimulus later this year, and on worries over economic growth prospects in China and Europe.
The S&P/ASX 200 index lost 13 points to 4,828.8 by 0136 GMT. The benchmark ended last week 0.8 percent higher in volatile trading.
U.S. Job growth was stronger than expected in June and the payroll gains for the prior two months were revised higher, cementing expectations for the Federal Reserve to start winding down its massive stimulus program as early as September.
‘I think the traders are still trying to determine how to interpret the good data in the U.S. At the moment,’ said Waterer, citing volatility in early trade.
‘Do they put the focus on the more positive growth story or do they focus on the negative which would be a possible earlier end to quantitative easing?’
A weaker Australian dollar, trading at $0.9055 helped cap broader losses as stocks largely exposed to the U.S. market maximise funds when money is repatriated. QBE Insurance Group Ltd jumped 1.5 percent while bio-technology firm CSL Ltd added 0.2 percent.
Meanwhile, financials posted modest gains. Top lender the Commonwealth Bank of Australia edged 0.3 percent higher while Westpac Banking Corp added 0.1 percent.
Australian job advertisements in newspapers and on the Internet fell for a fourth straight month in June, a potentially worrying omen for unemployment that will maintain pressure for another cut in interest rates.
U.S. Stocks rose sharply on Friday after robust jobs data pointed to economic growth and investors overcame concerns that the Federal Reserve may begin scaling back its stimulus efforts as soon as September.
New Zealand’s benchmark NZX 50 index rose 0.3 percent to 4,505.3.
STOCKS ON THE MOVE
* Atlas Iron Ltd lost 5.6 percent to A$0.80. The iron ore miner has committed to the development of its Mt Webber mine, but was hit by a fall in metals prices.
(0137 GMT)
* RHG Ltd surged 15 percent to A$0.46, a 5-month high, after the residential mortgage home loaner announced a fully franked dividend of 3 cents per share.
(0137 GMT)
(AGENCIES)
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