Australia Shares End Down, Weighed by China Trade Data

   By Robb M. Stewart 
 

MELBOURNE, Australia--A fresh assault by Australia's equities market on a seven-year high was deflected by weak trade data out of China, the world's second-biggest economy and Australia's largest trading partner.

The market opened higher Monday, echoing gains in Europe and the U.S. at the end of last week and thanks in part to a recovery in oil prices. But the Chinese data weighed on mining and industrial stocks in particular, leaving the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 down slightly for the day.

The index ended 8.1 points lower at 5960.3, after coming within 4 points of 6000 earlier in the day, a level last breached in January 2008.

"This ceiling is rock solid and it really will tell a clear picture if we can get a weekly close above this level," said Chris Weston, chief market strategist at IG in Melbourne.

China's March exports slid 15% from a year earlier while imports dropped 12.7%, according to data from the General Administration of Customs. The figures damp hopes the price of iron ore, Australia's biggest export, will recover in the near term. China is the world's biggest consumer of the commodity.

Worries about the prospects for iron-ore producers were heightened last week when Atlas Iron Ltd. (AGO.AU) said it would stop mining in the coming weeks, as the plunge in ore prices meant its operations weren't profitable. Citi added to the gloomy outlook for the commodity on Monday by scaling back its forecasts for the steelmaking ingredient.

Shares in iron-ore producers BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP.AU), Rio Tinto Ltd. (RIO.AU) and Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. (FMG.AU) fell 2.4%, 2.8% and 2.2%, respectively.

Among energy stocks, shares of Woodside Petroleum Ltd. (WPL.AU), Santos Ltd. (STO.AU) and Oil Search Ltd. (OSH.AU) rose 0.2%, 1.6% and 1.9%, respectively, as crude-oil prices continued to recover, with Nymex crude posting a fourth consecutive weekly advance last week.

Mesoblast Ltd. (MSB.AU) shares rallied 24% after the company said U.S.-based Celgene Corp. (CELG) had agreed to buy a 4.5% stake and had secured right-of-first-refusal for six months over certain products being developed by the Australian regenerative-medicine specialist.

Write to Robb M. Stewart at [e-mail]