MW: Australia stocks rise, but set for quarterly loss
By Carla Mozee
LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Stocks in Australia rose in early trade Friday, with reiterations from U.S. Federal Reserve officials that monetary stimulus will depend on the economic outlook helping Australian equities reach for a third straight win. The S&P/ASX 200 index AU:XJO -0.18% tacked on 0.3% to 4,827.50, led by gains in the banking sector. Shares of Australia & New Zealand Banking Group AU:ANZ +0.25% ANEWF +2.56% and Westpac Banking Corp. AU:WBC +0.24% WEBNF +4.84% were each up 0.8% and National Australia Bank Ltd. AU:NAB -0.24% NAUBF -5.26% rose 0.7%. Mining stocks, many of which notched steep losses this month, were mixed. Gold producer Newcrest Mining Ltd. AU:NCM -0.30% NCMGF +4.37% was down 1.7% while Rio Tinto Ltd. AU:RIO +1.12% RIO +0.80% advanced 0.3%. The S&P/ASX 200 benchmark was set to post more than 2% loss for June, and a decline of roughly 3% for the second quarter, the first quarterly fall since the second quarter of 2012.
