2013.04.0401:12:11UTC+00Australia stocks diminish, as miners, energy weigh

Australia's stock market slid on early Thursday trading action, with energy and miners among the leading droppers, sending the standard S&P/ASX 200 losing 0.5% to 4,931.10. A sell-off in commodities overnight including an almost 3% slide for New York-traded oil futures, touches most resource shares. Origin Energy Ltd. and BlueScope Steel Ltd. each dropped 3%, Woodside Petroleum Ltd. moving down 1.7%, Alumina Ltd. gave up 1.7%, and Newcrest Mining Ltd. surrendered 3.3%. The two largest miners, BHP Billiton Ltd. and Rio Tinto Ltd. dive down 1.4% and 1.1%, respectively, with Credit Suisse reducing its price targets on both. Bucking the trend, Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. surged 0.8% despite a Credit Suisse target cut of its own, as the shares had strongly declining in recent sessions. Upscale retailers also relinquished ground ahead of February retail sales data, with Myer Holdings Ltd. off track 1%, Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd. miss 1.1%, and David Jones Ltd. trading 2.9% lower.