Following negative offshore leads, and Wall Street’s worst quarter since 2008, the Australian share market has followed suit, falling more than 2 per cent at noon. Falls have been across the board, accelerated in the energy, mining and banking sectors. Trading has been light, with New South Wales, South Australia and the ACT on a public holiday.
The S&P/ASX200 index has retreated 84 points to 3,924. On the futures market the SPI is 68 points down.
Economic news
Manufacturing activity in Australia contracted last month. According to the Australian Industry Group and PriceWaterhouseCoopers, the performance of manufacturing index dropped 1 point to 42.3 in September, under the 50-level that separates contraction and expansion.
Consumer prices in Australia edged up last month. According to TD Securities and the Melbourne Institute the inflation gauge added 0.1 per cent in September, following a fall of 0.1 per cent the month before. Over the year the inflation gauge increased 2.8 per cent.
Company news
Ahead of its full year results Elders Limited (ASX:ELD) has revealed more than $50 million in writedowns but says that it will deliver an underlying net profit. The writedowns have largely been made on the agribusinesses forestry division and grains trading joint venture. A loss of up to $3 million from the sale of its livestock export vessel, will be booked as a non-recurring item. In the year to September 30, Elders expects to post an underlying net profit of between $1 million and $5 million. Shares in Elders have fallen 3.45 per cent and are trading at $0.28.
Reports have emerged that China’s Hanlong Mining has upped its takeover bid for Africa-Focused iron ore developer Sundance Resources Limited (ASX:SDL). Sundance today entered into a trading halt, it said in order to prepare on update on Hanlong’s proposed takeover. Sources have told Reuters that Hanlong plans to unveil its improved offer tomorrow. In July Hanlong offered Sundance $0.50 per share, valuing the company at around $1.5 billion. Shares in Sundance Resources last traded at $0.43, before entering into a trading halt.
Best and worst performers
All sectors have sunk into the red: The sector with the smallest losses is Health Care losing 5 points to 7,599. Shares in Sonic Healthcare have added 0.7 per cent and trading at $11.48. Shares in Biota Holdings and CSL have also firmed.
The worst performing sector is Energy dropping 370 points to12,109. Shares in Molopo Energy have fallen 7.04 per cent and trading at $0.66. Shares in Roc Oil Company and Cue Energy Resources have also lost ground.
New Zealand
The NZSX50 has fallen 35 points. Taking a look at the top four stocks by turnover, Telecom Corporation of New Zealand is at the top of the list with stock down 1.52 per cent at $2.60 followed by Fletcher Building, Telstra Corporation and Westpac.
Gold and the dollar
Gold is trading at $US1,632 an ounce. The Australian dollar is buying 96.77 US cents.
