Australian Stocks Turn Lower; Murchison, Gindalbie Drop

Marcus Jacob
23 Jun, 2011
New York City

Australian stocks closed lower after rallying for five days in a row. Telstra and National Broadband Network agreed to a historic agreement that will see the roll out of fiber optic network. NBN will pay $11 billion for the transfer of fixed line business.

[R]5:00 PM Sydney – Australian stocks closed lower after rallying for five days in a row. Telstra and National Broadband Network agreed to a historic agreement that will see the roll out of fiber optic network. NBN will pay $11 billion for the transfer of fixed line business.[/R]

The ASX 200 index decreased 32.10 or 0.7% to 4,500.5 and All Ordinaries index fell 0.6% 29.5 to 4,561.3.

The Australian dollar increased to US$1.0557 and crude oil increased 60 cents to US$94.77.

In trading, turnover dropped to 2.34 billion shares worth $5.5 billion. Of the stocks traded, 459 stocks increased, 662 decreased and 413 closed unchanged.

Markets in Asia closed lower as well. Nikkei index in Tokyo dropped 0.4% and the index in Hong Kong fell 0.7%.

Stock Movers

Resources and energy linked stocks and banks led the broader market lower.

Telstra declined 7 cents to $2.96 after the company agreed to participate in the national broadband network for $11 billion. NBN also signed a deal to acquire all cable customers of Optus for $800 million over a number of years.

BHP Billiton declined 42 cents to $42.04 and Rio Tinto added 21 cents to $80. Newcrest Mining decreased 20 cents to $36.85.

Woodside Petroleum Ltd decreased 69 cents to $40.40 and Santos Ltd declined 11 cents to $13.37.

QR National increased 2 cents to $3.29 after the railroad operator renewed its coal transportation contract with Stanwell Corp.

Murchison Metals declined 4.5 cents to 76.50 cents before the stock was halted from trading after its consortium partner Sinosteel Midwest Corp closed down a mine in Western Australia.

Gindalbie Metals dropped 5.5 cents to 84 cents after the mine closure. The company had agreed to be a key customer for Oakajee port to be developed by the consortium.

Qantas decreased 3 cents to $1.80 a day after it estimated pre-tax annual earnings of as much as $500 million.

Banks closed lower. Westpac decreased 39 cents to $21.13 and National Australia Bank fell 22 cents to $24.46. ANZ eased 27 cents to $21.45. Commonwealth Bank declined 12 cents to $50.49.