Australia shares fall 1.3 pct; BHP, Rio lead decline

By Mette Fraende SYDNEY, July 3 (Reuters) - Australian stocks fell to their lowest close in over a week on Friday, with losses headed by global miners BHP Billiton Ltd and Rio Tinto Ltd after gloomy jobs data in the U.S. cast doubt on the prospects for a global recovery. Rio shares dropped 4.2 percent after it resumed trade following a deeply discounted rights issue to raise $15.2 billion. The Australian market outperformed Wall Street, where the Dow index fell 2.6 percent, but fund managers pointed to unconvincing trade volumes and said U.S. investors had sold down more heavily ahead of the Independence Day holiday. Losses were led by the resources sector after copper and oil prices slid, but few sectors escaped Friday's downturn. Worries over the fast-approaching reporting season added to the negative sentiment. "Mining, energy and banking firms were the targets of hungry bears today," said David Taylor, market analyst at CMC Markets in a note. The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 49.1 points to 3,828.2 based on the latest available data, after nudging up just 0.1 percent the previous day. New Zealand's benchmark NZX 50 index fell 0.2 percent to 2,761.5. "Fortunately, as the U.S. rolls into holiday mode, lighter volumes have meant the damage has perhaps been minimized. Certainly here at home volumes were down and the market has been supported by a few bright spots," Taylor said. Global miner BHP Billiton fell 2.5 percent to A$33.43. BHP said it had agreed to sell its Yabulu nickel refinery for an undisclosed amount, resulting in writedowns of $675 million. Smaller miners Fortescue Metals and OZ Minerals fell 4.1 percent to A$3.52 and 2.8 percent to A$0.86 respectively, after copper prices softened in the U.S. and Europe on Thursday. Energy firms were also under pressure after oil prices shed nearly 4 percent to below $67 dollars per barrel. Santos declined 1.9 percent to A$14.12, Woodside Petroleum fell 0.6 percent to A$41.43 and Roc Oil shed 5.8 percent to A$0.73. Defying the trend was Australian miner Kagara, rising 5.0 percent to A$0.73. Analysts said the shares were bouncing back after the company completed a share issue last month. Australia's top banks came under pressure on worries over the economic recovery, with falls led by No.2 lender Westpac Banking Corp., down 1.3 percent to A$19.32, and third-largest lender Commonwealth Bank, down 0.6 percent to A$37.19. The nation's largest investment bank, Macquarie Group lost 2.6 percent to A$37.01. (Reporting by Mette Fraende) (([e-mail]; [phone]; Reuters Messaging [e-mail])) ((If you have a query or comment on this story, send an email to [e-mail])) DIARIES & DATA: IPO diary & data Asia earnings diary U.S. earnings diary European diary Australia diary Wall Street Week Ahead Eurostocks Week Ahead ................................................................ For latest top breaking news across all markets ................................................................ TOP NEWS SUMMARIES ON OTHER SUBJECTS | U.S. Companies | European Companies | | Forex | Global Economy | | Tech.Media,Telecoms | Banking, Financials | | Politics & General | Sports | ................................................................ MAJOR STOCK MARKET REPORTS New York Weekly outlook New York Pan-Europe Weekly outlook Europe London Weekly outlook London Tokyo ................................................................ ASIA STOCK MARKETS Pan-Asia...................... Bangkok...... Karachi........ S/east Asia. Bombay....... Kuala Lumpur... Sydney/NZ... China........ Seoul.......... Taipei...... Hong Kong.... Singapore...... Tokyo........ ................................................................

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