Australia stocks rebound on miner, retail strength

MarketWatch.com - MarketPulse LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) -- Australian stocks bounced back from recent losses, as the S/ASX 200 rose 0.6% to 5,204.50 early Wednesday. Beleaguered mining shares helped lead the advance, with BHP Billiton Ltd. rising 1.1%, Rio Tinto Ltd. gaining 1.7%, and Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. up 2.2%. Shares of Evolution Mining Ltd. improved by 3.3% after the gold extractor affirmed its 2014 production outlook, and Atlas Iron Ltd. vaulted 9.1% higher as it raised its fiscal-year output forecast for iron ore. Retailers also advanced, with David Jones Ltd. gaining 2.1%, and Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd. ahead by 2.3%, while building-materials firm James Hardie Industries SE rose 1.4% on the back of upbeat U.S. home-price data out overnight. On the downside, shares of Telstra Corp. slipped 0.2% as Australian broker BBY Ltd. cut its rating on the stock to underperform from buy.Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.