The Australian share market has dropped two per cent at noon, following on from Wall St closing lower as investors assess growing concerns over Ireland’s debt situation and China’s rising inflation. Locally all sectors are trading in the red with the miners bearing the brunt of pressure on commodity prices.
The S&P/ASX200 index is down 72 points at 4,628 and on the futures market the SPI200 is down 71.
In economic news: The Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations’ skilled vacancies index in November was 44.5 points, representing a fall of 1 per cent compared to the month before, but a rise of 5.9 per cent compared to the same time last year.
To company news: Macarthur Coal Ltd (ASX:MCC) has forecast its first half profit could triple in the 2011 financial year compared to the year before, as demand picks up and the coal market continues to tighten. As a result, Macarthur expects first-half net profit after tax could reach between $115 million to $125 million, based on 2.5 to 2.7 million tonnes of sales. The figure compares with the first half $39.6 million profit Macarthur delivered in the same period of the 2010 financial year. Shares in Macarthur Coal have gained 0.79% and are $11.49.
Ausenco Ltd (ASX:AAX) says it has returned to growth as a result of a strong second half of the 2010 financial year. The engineering and project management company now expects to deliver full year underlying net profit after tax of up to $3 million, while attributable net loss after tax is expected to rest between $9 million and $12 million. In the year to 31 December 2009 Ausenco’s net profit before tax fell to $20.14 million, from $56.3 million the year before. Shares in Ausenco are 6.83% higher at $2.66.
Turning to market indices: As mentioned, all sectors are trading in the red, but the sector with the smallest losses is Telco Services, with the index down 2 points to 899. Shares in My Net Fone are up 2.86% at $0.18. Shares in BigAir Group are also higher, while Telstra is steady. The worst performing sector at midday is Energy with the index down 363 points to 15,234. Northern Uranium is down 5.8% at $0.325. Roc Oil Company and Woodside Petroleum have also fallen at noon.
To New Zealand: the NZSX50 is 28 point lower. Taking a look at the top 4 stocks by turnover, Telecom of New Zealand is at the top of the list with stock 3.64% down at $2.12 followed by; Guinness Peat Group, Ryman Healthcare and Fisher and Paykel Healthcare.
Gold and the dollar: Gold is trading at $US1339 an ounce and the Aussie dollar is buying $US97.65 cents.
