Wesfarmers in Australia Places Premier Coal for Sale; Myer Lowers Outlook

Marcus Jacob
17 Mar, 2011
New York City

Stocks in Sydney in a choppy trading declined to six-month low as international worries overshadowed the trading sentiment. Wesfarmers placed its coal mining division for sales and the retailer Myer lowered its full year outlook for the second time.

[R]5:00 PM Sydney – Stocks in Sydney in a choppy trading declined to six-month low as international worries overshadowed the trading sentiment. Wesfarmers placed its coal mining division for sales and the retailer Myer lowered its full year outlook for the second time.[/R]

The benchmark index in Australia declined to a six-month low as international markets remained on the edge. Japan struggles to contain radiation leak. In the domestic market Myers estimated a lower full year earnings and Wesfarmers put coal division for sale.

The ASX 200 index declined 2.90 to 4,555.30 and the broader All Ordinaries index fell 5.60 to 4,638.40.

The Australian dollar edged to 98.36 U.S. cents and crude oil prices increased 76 cents to US$97.97 a barrel.

Wesfarmers Resources managing director Stewart Butel said that the company is looking at all options including the “potential sale of Premier Coal.”

The company’s coal mine based in the Collie coal basin 200 kilometer south of Perth adjacent to Griffin Coal and supplies coal to Western Australia’s electricity network.

Stock Movers

BHP Billiton increased 13 cents to $43.70 and Rio Tinto Plc added 26 cents to $79.20.

Uranium miners declined on the worries that rising safety worries may delay nuclear power plants approvals around the world. Energy Resources declined 48 cents of 6.2% to $7.32 and Extract Resources fell $1.96 or 23% to $6.50.

Mantra Resources dropped 27.5% to $4.85 after Russian miners abandoned its $1.2 billion takeover offer.

Sundance Resources soared 9.3% to 47 cents after the company more than doubled the estimate of high grade iron ore at its Mbalam project in West Africa.

Banks closed lower. NAB declined 7 cents to $24.28, Commonwealth Bank dropped 25 cents to $49.75 and Westpac declined 12 cents to $22.34.

Macquarie Group rose 3 cents to $34.71 after its chairman David Clarke resigned on poor health.

Myer increased 12 cents or 3.9% to $3.22 after the retailer said first-half sales declined 3.5% and net fell 8.8% to $108.9 million. The retailer also downgraded its estimate for the full-year earnings to a decline of 5% to $169 million.

Woodside Petroleum gained more than 1% after the gas explorer said its preliminary drill at Martin-1 well encountered gas column of 100 meter at a depth of 4,778 meters.

Telstra increased 1.9% or 5 cents to $2.65 after it announced a dividend of more than 10%.