ASIA MARKETS: Australia Stocks Wobble In Shuttered Asia

By Sarah Turner, MarketWatch

SYDNEY (MarketWatch) -- Australian stocks wobbled on Monday, struggling for direction on a day when most other major Asian stock markets were closed for holidays.

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index declined 0.1% in a choppy session, while New Zealand's benchmark NZSX 50 index also lost 0.1%.

Markets in Hong Kong, mainland China, Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea and Malaysia were all closed Monday for the Lunar New Year, while Japan was shut for National Foundation Day.

In the U.S., stocks had ended with gains Friday, following the release of better-than-expected trade data.

Australian shares had also advanced Friday, with the move cementing four straight weeks of gains for the benchmark index. The advance took the index back to a closing level it hadn't seen since April 2010.

IG Markets strategist Evan Lucas said Monday that, with Asian traders away from their desks today, he was expecting the Australian market to pause.

Such a move "will give the market time to gear up for the major part of the local reporting season, which kicks off in earnest on Wednesday," he said.

Major Australian companies reporting this week include Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBAUY)(CBAUY)(CBAUY)(CBAUY), up 0.6% on Monday; Rio Tinto Ltd. (RIO), down 0.5%, and blood-products group CSL Ltd. (CMXHY)(CMXHY)(CMXHY), down 1.1%.

Turning to Monday's earnings reports, entertainment retailer JB Hi-Fi Ltd. reported an increase in first-half profit of 3% to 82.1 million Australian dollars ($84.7 million) and forecast a 7% rise in fiscal-year profit.

JB Hi-Fi shares soared 17.5% while sector rivals trading higher included Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd. , up 6.6%, Myer Holding Ltd. , up 2.7%, and David Jones Ltd. moving higher by 3.4%.

Energy and mining companies were among the worst performers on Monday, with Oil Search Ltd. (OISHY) down 1.6% and Alumina Ltd. (AWC) lower by 0.3%.

Investors have been lukewarm towards miners in particular for some time, with Rio Tinto down 0.9% over the past 12 months, while Alumina has fallen 4.8%. The S&P/ASX 200, by contrast, has gained more than 17%.

Economists at Capital Economics said in a note last week that investor returns from commodities have been "uninspiring" over the past two years, particularly compared to returns from equities and government bonds.

"What's more, there is growing scepticism about the 'super cycle' and diversification arguments that the usual suspects have been deploying to promote commodity investments," the economists said, referring to the commodities super-cycle that has been cited as the driving force in the mining boom.

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