Reuters Australia

Australia shares end down 0.7 pct; miners, property drag

Thursday November 5, 07:49 PM

(Adds analysts' comments)

WELLINGTON/MELBOURNE, Nov 5 (Reuters) - Australian shares fell 0.7 percent on Thursday, with miners and property groups dragging the market lower and health-care stocks limiting the declines, after an unconvincing rally on Wall Street.

Brokers said the market was teetering around 4,500, and said there was little news that would drive it much higher before the end of the year, with few results left to come.

"There's just a bit more uncertainty. Overseas markets seem to be skittish, and the recovery's uneven," said David Spry, research manager at broker FW Holst.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO lost 32.1 points to finish at 4,508.0.

New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index .NZ50 also fell 0.7 percent, ending at 3,144.5.

"It's very hard to see the share market going sky-high without some improvement in the U.S. Even China needs the U.S., too," said Spry.

The top performer on Thursday was toll road operator Transurban Group (ASX: TCL.ax) which soared 19 percent to A$5.24, a nine-month high, after two Canadian pension funds made a $4.4 billion buyout bid that was rejected by the board. [ID:nSYD544423]

Retailers slipped after department store chain David Jones (ASX: DJS.ax) reported 2.2 percent growth in first-quarter sales, well below analysts' forecasts, while newly listed rival Myer MYR.AX said first-quarter sales rose 5.2 percent.

David Jones fell 4.2 percent to A$5.19. Myer dropped 2.1 percent to A$3.76, sliding further below its A$4.10 issue price. Top supermarkets group Woolworths (ASX: WOW.ax) ended down 0.9 percent at A$27.66.

Miners BHP Billiton (ASX: BHP.ax) and Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO.ax) both lost about 1.3 percent, with BHP closing at A$36.44 and Rio at A$62.59.

In the property sector the two biggest trusts, Westfield Group (ASX: WDC.ax) and Stockland Group (ASX: SGP.ax) , fell 1.2 percent and 2.1 percent respectively.

Among the banks, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ.ax) was the only loser, down 2.9 percent at A$22.07 after its shares traded without rights to its dividend. Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA.ax) led the banks' gains, ending up 0.9 percent. (Reporting by Sonali Paul and Adrian Bathgate; Editing by Mark Bendeich)

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