2013.04.1501:49:07UTC+00Australian stocks slump, with pressure on miners

Australian stocks open a weak Monday action, with mining shares struggling following sharp drops in metals prices late last week. The S&P/ASX 200 diminished 43 points, or 0.9%, to 4,970.50. Newcrest Mining skid 5.9% in the wake of a 4% drop in gold on Friday to bear-market territory. May gold futures extended their declines on Monday. Shares of BHP Billiton Ltd. and Rio Tinto Ltd. each gave up more than 2% and Fortescue Metals Group off 3.5%. The three miners are each scheduled to release March-quarter production reports this week. Australian equities may also react to first-quarter growth and other economic data from China, Australia's biggest trading partner, due for release later Monday. The Australian dollar backslides to $1.0513 from $1.0546 late Friday.