MARKET COMMENT: S&P/ASX 200 May Fall On Commodities, Ex-Dividend Moves

2256 GMT [Dow Jones] Australia's S&P/ASX 200 may decline on resources sector weakness and ex-dividend falls. BHP's (BHP.AU) ADRs fell to A$36.22, down 1.7% on Friday's local close, and Rio Tinto (RIO.AU) declined 2.8%. Commodity prices weighed on offshore resources equities, with spot iron ore down 0.7%, spot gold down 0.5%, Nymex crude oil down 1.5% and LME copper also 1.5% lower Friday. Major stocks including BHP (BHP.AU), AMP (AMP.AU) and Brambles (BXB.AU) trade ex-dividend Monday--the total value of dividends alone is worth about 11 index points. While the S&P 500 rose 0.2% Friday amid better than expected U.S. manufacturing and consumer confidence data, the inability of President Obama and Congress to reach a deal to avoid the sequester could be taken negatively by equity markets, particularly given that there was some hope of a last-minute deal. China's services sector PMI data disappointed the market over the weekend, and the domestic market is headed into an RBA policy meeting on Tuesday, as well as a host of domestic economic data this week, including retail sales and GDP. The S&P/ASX 200 closed 0.4% lower Friday at 5086.1. ([e-mail])

 
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