Australian Construction Approvals Fall 13.6%; Westpac Net Up

Marcus Jacob
02 Nov, 2011
New York City

Australian stocks edged lower after international markets dropped on the rising worries in the euro zone. September construction approval dropped 13.6%. OneSteel fell after it said higher dollar will hurt its first half earnings. Westpac Banking said lending growth slowed and bad debt charges fell.

[R]6:00 PM Sydney – Australian stocks edged lower after international markets dropped on the rising worries in the euro zone. September construction approval dropped 13.6%. OneSteel fell after it said higher dollar will hurt its first half earnings. Westpac Banking said lending growth slowed and bad debt charges declined.[/R]

Market sentiment in Australian trading was weak on the on-going turmoil in the euro zone after Greece sought public vote to approve the European Union bailout conditions.

The surprise decision put investors and politicians on the defensive and world markets declined. Banks were among the leading decliners after most European banks dropped more than 10%.

The ASX 200 index decreased 1.1% or 48.3 to 4,185 and All Ordinaries index declined 1% or 45.90 to 4,251.

The Australian dollar rose 0.08% to US$1.033.

Australian Building Approvals Fall 13.6%

Construction approval declined sharply in September according to the latest data release by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The value of total building approvals declined 13.3% and the number of dwelling units approved for construction fell 13.6% from August. The number of units approved declined 12% from a year ago month.

The total construction values were dragged by the weakness in the non-residential buildings which were down 19.9%. However, the private sector single family home construction increased 1% in the month but declined 7.6% from a year ago month.

Yesterday the statistics agency said Australian home prices declined 1.2% in the third quarter to September from the previous when prices dropped 0.5% after the latest revision.

Stock Movers

BHP Billiton Ltd closed down $0.22 to $36.55 and Rio Tinto Ltd declined $0.75 to $66.40.

Murchison Metals Ltd fell 1 cent to 28.5 cents and the Western Australia government said that the company is seeking capital from China based companies to develop the port and rail infrastructure at Oakajee Port.

Fortescue Metals Group increased 8 cents to $4.85, Lynas Corporation Limited closed down at $1.14 and Iluka Resources rose 16 cents to $15.52.

OneSteel Ltd dropped 21 cents to 98.5 cents after the company said fiscal first half earnings are expected to be hurt on the stronger dollar.

Oil Search Limited decreased 10 cents to $6.40, Santos Limited fell 26 cents to $12.55 and Woodside Petroleum rose 20 cents to $36.37.

Cochlear Limited fell $2.69 to $54.52.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia closed down 47 cents to $48.22 and National Australia Bank decreased 19 cents to $24.91. ANZ edged down 46 to $20.90. Westpac fell 42 cents to $21.52.

Westpac Banking said first half profit declined 13% to $3.03 billion on smaller increase in lending and bad debt charged declined.

Mirvac Group declined 2 cents to $1.25 after the property developer confirmed the annual distribution for the year between 8.2 cents and 8.4 cents.

David Jones Limited closed down 7 cent to $3.22 and Wesfarmers Limited decreased 31 cent to $31.88.

Woolworths Limited decreased 28 cent to $23.39 and James Hardie Industries SE decreased 22 cents to $5.81.

Qantas Airways Ltd closed down 5 cents to $1.58 and the government agency said that the airline is not providing enough compensation to passengers for the flight disruptions.

Virgin Blue closed unchanged at 37 cents but Flight Centre declined 58 cents to $19.25.