Australian shares fall

Australian shares lost 0.5 percent on Monday as investors took sluggish offshore equity markets and uninspiring US jobs data as a cue to take profits after a month of gains. A slump of 4 percent for Westpac Banking Corp, Australia's third largest lender, as it traded ex-dividend also dragged down the broader financials sector and the benchmark index.
The S&P/ASX 200 index closed down 25.1 points at 5524.0, having dipped as low as 5501.4 in intraday trading. On Friday, the benchmark hit its highest close in eight weeks, having added nearly 7 percent since October 13 and gaining in 13 out of its most recent 19 sessions. New Zealand's benchmark NZX50 index surged 0.9 percent higher to a record closing high of 5,470.34, lifted by solid rises for several top-10 stocks and power companies.
A sharp fall in Westpac Banking Corp, Australia's third largest lender, as it traded ex-dividend dragged down the broader financials sector and the benchmark index. Westpac was down 3.7 percent at A$33.56 as it traded ex-dividend, but Australia and New Zealand Banking Group was also down 1.6 percent at A$32.35 and National Australia Bank was off by 0.8 percent at A$32.95. "I'm not surprised to see the defensives off, given how they've been going over the last four weeks," said Evan Lucas, market strategist at IG.
"There's just a little bit of off-taking considering the profit that's been made. The leads over the weekend were fairly muted." US non-farm payroll data published on Friday fell short of expectations, albeit showing signs of economic resilience, curbing gains on Wall St shares but pushing up safe haven precious metals prices.
Australian official data showed housing loans fell in September, adding to the downbeat mood across most sectors. Large bluechips were lower, including supermarket chain owners Wesfarmers and Woolworths, down 0.7 percent and 0.8 percent respectively. Coal producer Yancoal dived 27 percent to A$0.16 after saying it wants to raise up to A$2.3 billion in notes to pay down debt. Struggling television broadcaster Ten added 3.7 percent to A$0.28 after local media reported it was fielding approaches from parties interested in taking it over.
Uranium producers gained on news that Japan plans to reactivate its idled Sendai nuclear plant. Paladin Energy rose 12 percent to A$0.37 and Toro Energy was up 6 percent to A$0.09. Larger resources firms were also higher after base metals and crude oil prices rose. BHP Billiton was up 0.9 percent at A$34.79 and Rio Tinto was up 1 percent at A$61.32. NZ's Fletcher Building, the biggest listed company, was up 1 percent to NZ$8.44, while the second ranked stock, telco Spark, was 2.1 percent higher at NZ$3.12.
Another top-10 stock, software developer Xero, was up 3.9 percent to NZ$18.20, still benefiting from last week's move to buy a Seattle-based online payroll firm. Power companies were again strong performers, with the three part-privatised stocks - Genesis, Mighty River Power, and Meridian - all sitting at or near record levels. The latter two are being added to the MSCI New Zealand index in two weeks.