MARKET COMMENT: S&P/ASX 200 Down 0.3% Before US Employment Data

0005 GMT [Dow Jones] Australia's S&P/ASX 200 falls 0.3% to 4899.6 after hitting a fresh 2-month low of 4893.8 in mixed trading before Friday's U.S. jobs data. Materials and industrials stocks have recovered at the expense of defensive and high-yield sectors including health care, utilities, consumer staples, telcos and banks. BHP (BHP.AU), Rio Tinto (RIO.AU), Newcrest (NCM.AU) and Fortescue (FMG.AU) rise 0.4%-1.7%, while CSL (CSL.AU), CBA (CBA.AU), APA Group (APA.AU), Woolworths (WOW.AU), Telstra (TLS.AU) and CBA (CBA.AU) fall 0.9%-1.5%. Traders are watching the Nikkei after the BOJ's stronger-than-expected quantitative easing plans, which potentially improve the outlook for commodity prices and global economic growth. "It looks like there's been some portfolio selling weighing on the market this week," says Macquarie Private Wealth investment adviser John Milroy; "miners are having a fair day here after being friendless recently." Still, traders aren't convinced the resources sell-off is finished, despite obvious signs of capitulation selling in mid-cap resources Thursday. ([e-mail])

 
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