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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