Australia Shares End Lower as Data Dampen Sentiment

   By Robb M. Stewart 
 

MELBOURNE, Australia--Australia's equities market retreated for a third straight day on Wednesday, after weak Chinese economic data further soured sentiment.

Weaker consumer confidence in Australia weighed on consumer discretionary stocks, while traders said bank shares were hit by profit-taking, taking them further from recent highs.

Broad selling outside the energy and mining sectors deepened during the session, as China data showed the economy grew at its slowest pace in six years in the first quarter, while industrial production growth from January to February decelerated.

"We have a situation where the economy is going through a tough time yet it remains debatable whether another rate cut is imminent, and if so then it's probably already priced in anyway," said Stan Shamu, a market strategist at IG in Melbourne. "At the same time, our key trading partner, China, seems content with much slower growth."

Given the uncertainty over domestic interest rates, Australian jobs data due Thursday look set to be closely watched.

The S&P/ASX 200 ended 0.6% lower at 5908.40 Wednesday.

Shares of National Australia Bank Ltd. (NAB.AU), Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. (ANZ.AU), Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA.AU) and Westpac Banking Corp. (WBC.AU) lost between 1% and 1.6%.

Reversing losses earlier in the week, shares of mining companies BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP.AU) and Rio Tinto Ltd. (RIO.AU) gained 1.3% and 1.6%, respectively, helped by a recovery in the spot price for iron ore. Shares of Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. (FMG.AU) gained 1.1%.

Among energy stocks, Woodside Petroleum Ltd. (WPL.AU) gained 0.5% and Santos Ltd. (STO.AU) rose 0.4%.

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