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Australia shares fall 1.3 pct; BHP, Rio lead decline
Friday July 3, 07:01 PM
(Adds analyst comment)
By Mette Fraende
SYDNEY, July 3 (Reuters) - Australian stocks fell to their lowest close in over a week on Friday, with losses headed by global miners BHP Billiton Ltd BHP and Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO.ax) after gloomy jobs data in the U.S. cast doubt on the prospects for a global recovery.
Rio shares dropped 4.2 percent after it resumed trade following a deeply discounted rights issue to raise $15.2 billion. [ID:nSYD533101]
The Australian market outperformed Wall Street, where the Dow index .DJI fell 2.6 percent, but fund managers pointed to unconvincing trade volumes and said U.S. investors had sold down more heavily ahead of the Independence Day holiday.
Losses were led by the resources sector after copper and oil prices slid, but few sectors escaped Friday's downturn.
Worries over the fast-approaching reporting season added to the negative sentiment.
"Mining, energy and banking firms were the targets of hungry bears today," said David Taylor, market analyst at CMC Markets in a note.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO fell 49.1 points to 3,828.2 based on the latest available data, after nudging up just 0.1 percent the previous day.
New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index .NZ50 fell 0.2 percent to 2,761.5.
"Fortunately, as the U.S. rolls into holiday mode, lighter volumes have meant the damage has perhaps been minimized. Certainly here at home volumes were down and the market has been supported by a few bright spots," Taylor said.
Global miner BHP Billiton (ASX: BHP.ax) fell 2.5 percent to A$33.43. BHP said it had agreed to sell its Yabulu nickel refinery for an undisclosed amount, resulting in writedowns of $675 million. [ID:nSYD404718]
Smaller miners Fortescue Metals (ASX: FMG.ax) and OZ Minerals OZL.AX fell 4.1 percent to A$3.52 and 2.8 percent to A$0.86 respectively, after copper prices softened in the U.S. and Europe on Thursday.
Energy firms were also under pressure after oil prices shed nearly 4 percent to below $67 dollars per barrel CLc1.
Santos (ASX: STO.ax) declined 1.9 percent to A$14.12, Woodside Petroleum (ASX: WPL.ax) fell 0.6 percent to A$41.43 and Roc Oil (ASX: ROC.ax) shed 5.8 percent to A$0.73.
Defying the trend was Australian miner Kagara (ASX: KZL.ax) , rising 5.0 percent to A$0.73. Analysts said the shares were bouncing back after the company completed a share issue last month.
Australia's top banks came under pressure on worries over the economic recovery, with falls led by No.2 lender Westpac Banking Corp. (ASX: WBC.ax) , down 1.3 percent to A$19.32, and third-largest lender Commonwealth Bank (ASX: CBA.ax) , down 0.6 percent to A$37.19.
The nation's largest investment bank, Macquarie Group MQG.AX lost 2.6 percent to A$37.01. (Reporting by Mette Fraende)
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