Following a late dive in Wall Street that completely wiped out earlier gains and left US markets more one per cent down, the volatility spilled over into the Australian market which plunged over one percent on open.
The market has since recovered somewhat in a morning of up and down trade to be 0.79 per cent at noon.
The S&P/ASX 200 index is 39 points down at 5,098. On the futures market the SPI is 60 points lower.
Company news
WorleyParsons Limited
(ASX:WOR) has reported a net loss of $54.9 million after a nearly $200 million writedown on goodwill. Underlying profit fell 25 per cent on the back of deteriorating markets. The engineering firm has halved its final dividend to 22 cents per share. Shares in WorleyParsons advanced 3.53 per cent to $7.92.
Greencross Limited
(ASX:GXL) has announced that current CFO Martin Nicholas will replace Jeffrey David as CEO and Managing Director effective immediately. Mr David has led the company since last year’s merger with the Mammoth Pet and City Farmers business. Shares in Greencross haven’t responded well to the news down 10.67 per cent to $6.28 in morning trade.
Best and worst perfomers
The best performing sector is energy, gaining 0.55 per cent to 8,708. Shares in Whitehaven Coal have risen 6.6 per cent and are trading at $1.05. Shares in Senex Energy and Drillsearch are also stronger.
The worst performing sector is telco services, falling 1.55 per cent to 2,037. Shares in Telstra have fallen 1.54 per cent, trading at $5.74. Shares in Vocus Communications and TPG Telecom are also lower.
Gold and the dollar
Gold is trading at $US1,140 an ounce.
The Australian dollar is buying 71.14 US cents.
