Following negative leads from Wall Street the Australian share market opened lower and is almost 1 per cent down at noon. With commodity prices falling the resources sector has slumped, weighed down by the gold miners.
Figures
The S&P/ASX 200 index is 48 points down at 5,329. On the futures market the SPI is 43 points lower.
Company news Shares in Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. Limited
(ASX:SOL) have eased after reporting a first half profit of $73.7 million, down 0.79 per cent from the year before. Chairman Robert Millner says the investment company remains in a strong financial position with cash reserves including wholly owned subsidiaries of $180 million. A fully franked dividend of 19 cents per share has been declared. Shares in Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co. have fallen 0.79 per cent and are trading at $14.98 at noon.
Brickworks Limited
(ASX:BKW) net profit has edged up by 0.4 per cent to $56.3 million in the first half of the 2014 financial year. The building products manufacture suggests the diversified nature of its earnings is likely to result in a solid performance for the remainder of its financial year. Brickworks has increased its dividend by 3.7 per cent to 14 cents per share. Shares in Brickworks have risen 0.49 per cent and are trading at $14.22 at noon.
Best and worst performers
All sectors are trading lower. The sector with the smallest losses is telco falling 4 points to 1,765. Shares in TPG Telecom Limited
(ASX:TPM) have risen 2.11 per cent and trading at $6.29. Shares in Telecom Corp of New Zealand
(ASX:TEL) are higher while shares in Telstra Corporation Limited
(ASX:TLS) are lower.
The sector with the largest losses is materials, falling 160 points to 9,861. Shares in Evolution Mining Limited
(ASX:EVN) have fallen 4.89 per cent, trading at $0.83. Shares Resolute Mining Limited
(ASX:RSG) and Western Areas Limited
(ASX:WSA) are also lower.
Gold and the dollar
Gold is trading at $US1,306 an ounce.
The Australian dollar is buying 92.26 US cents at noon.
