MARKET COMMENT: S&P/ASX 200 Up 0.3% On Sector Rotation

0136 GMT [Dow Jones] Australia's S&P/ASX 200 is up 0.3% at 5137.43 amid rotation from materials to consumer discretionary, utilities, financials and energy stocks. "We are seeing continued rotation as people move money away from resources into other sectors," says White Funds managing director Angus Gluskie. China's disappointing economic data has put a question mark over the materials sector, but improving U.S. employment data, combined with expectations of ongoing U.S. quantitative easing, is underpinning other sectors. Also helping market sentiment is Japan's Nikkei 225, which is up 0.9% after BOJ Governor nominee Kuroda said that he will do whatever it takes to defeat deflation. "Resources are bearing the brunt of concerns about China's growth rate," Mr. Gluskie says. "If China were to struggle for a period of time, there's a direct impact on demand for resources, and an indirect impact of U.S. dollar strength on commodity prices, if the U.S. economy is growing at the same time as China is slowing. There would be an adverse translation effect on commodity prices." Resources heavyweights BHP (BHP.AU) and Rio Tinto (RIO.AU) fall 1% and 2.2% respectively, while electronics retailer JB Hi Fi (JBH.AU) surges 4.6% and News Corp (NWS.AU), which owns this newswire, jumps 2.3%. ([e-mail])

 
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