MARKET COMMENT: S&P/ASX 200 Down 0.4%; NAB Leads Bank Selloff
March 12 2013 - 8:24PM
Dow Jones News
2354 GMT [Dow Jones] Australia's S&P/ASX 200 is down 0.4% at
5102.09, on track for a second-consecutive daily decline, after
hitting a 4 1/2 year high of 5163.5 Tuesday. NAB (NAB.AU) falls
2.8%, leading declines among banks, after its strategy update
failed to give fresh bullish catalysts, and its cost-cutting plan
undershot expectations. Overnight weakness in the S&P 500
Financials sector is also a negative factor for the sector.
Investors are partially rotating to resources, with BHP (BHP.AU),
Rio Tinto (RIO.AU), Newcrest (NCM.AU) and Fortescue (FMG.AU) up
0.7%-3.2% after a better night for most commodity prices. "There
does appear to be a bit of rotation from banks to resources today,
but it's not a dollar for dollar switch," says CMC Markets' chief
market strategist, Michael McCarthy. "That failure yesterday by the
index--surpassing the previous high, then closing below it--is
adding some downward pressure to the market." The market is
ignoring positive economic data, with Westpac's Consumer Sentiment
Index rising 2% in March from February, to its highest since
September 2010. McCarthy expects a test of uptrend line and 20-day
moving average support at 5070. (david.rogers1@wsj.com)
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