Australia: Beach Energy drags shares lower, Mesoblast limits losses

[BENGALURU] Australian shares fell on Friday, dragged by plunging shares of Beach Energy after it said reserves at its oilfields in the country were drying up, with losses in gold stocks also weighing on the benchmark index.

The S&P/ASX 200 index dropped 0.6 per cent to 7,042.1 by 0018 GMT, moving away from a 14-month high it hit on Thursday.

Beach Energy was the top percentage loser with a drop of over 20 per cent. The oil and gas producer downgraded its annual production forecast and said it would review its reserves at Western Flank after output declined there.

Beach also dragged the energy sub-index 1.3 per cent lower despite oil prices rising overnight.

Keeping losses in check were shares of top percentage gainer Mesoblast, as they jumped nearly 9 per cent after trial data showed the company's drug reduced mortality in Covid-19 patients under the age of 65.

Shares of Beach Energy and Mesoblast were the most-heavily traded by volume.

Gold stocks fell 2 per cent after the bullion dropped overnight on rising US Treasury yields. Leading the losses was West African Resources, down 4.6 per cent, followed by Ora Banda Mining, dropping 4.3 per cent.

Financial stocks slid 0.4 per cent. Australia and New Zealand Banking Group lost 0.3 per cent after it warned of a profit hit in the first-half from its exposure to Malaysia's 1MBD scandal.

Tech stocks fell 0.9 per cent and miners lost 1.3 per cent.

In other markets, Japan's Nikkei was down 0.5 per cent at 28920.3, while S&P 500 E-minis futures fell 8.25 points, or 0.2 per cent.

In New Zealand, the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index fell 0.08 per cent to 12,704.7.

REUTERS