Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Drops, Led by Rinker and James Hardie
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Drops, Led by Rinker and James Hardie
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index fell from a record, led by Rinker Group Ltd. as home sales dropped in the U.S., its biggest market.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index lost 10.1, or 0.2 percent, to 4762.4 as of 10:20 a.m. in Sydney. About three stocks fell for every two that gained.
New Zealand’s NZX 50 Index added 0.5 percent to 3373.01 as of 12:20 p.m. in Wellington.
Rinker, the biggest supplier of cement blocks in the U.S., fell 23 cents, or 1.4 percent, to A$16.54. James Hardie Industries NV, the biggest supplier of home siding in the U.S., slid 7 cents, or 0.8 percent, to A$8.93. Both companies get more than 75 percent of their sales in the U.S.
U.S. stocks dropped as sales of previously owned homes declined by a worse-than-expected 1.7 percent last month to the lowest level in eight months, increasing concern the world’s biggest economy will falter in 2006.
The benchmark index is poised for an 18 percent rise this year, after a 23 percent jump in 2004, the best performance in more than a decade.
More: bloomberg.com
