Following losses in the US and Europe ahead of the weekend, the Australian share market plunged on open but is slowly clawing back some early losses to be 0.51 per cent down at noon.
The S&P/ASX 200 index is 28 points down at 5,160. On the futures market the SPI is 14 points lower.
Company news
Mining services provider WDS Limited
(ASX:WDS) has released a shock profit downgrade and announced it is replacing its CEO. WDS has downgraded its earnings forecast to between $1 million and $3 million after signalling in August it would improve on the past year result of $13 million. The writedowns have been attributed to a fatal accident in the energy division which suspended operation for a time as well as the failure to win a follow up contract at a coal seam gas project. The mining division has also experienced difficulties with results at the Eagle Downs Coal Mine. WDS says that CEO Terry Chapman has agreed to move on and a search is underway for a new CEO. Shares in WDS are trading 67.28 per cent lower at $0.27.
Nearmap Limited ( ASX:NEA) says it is expanding into the lucrative US market and is launching a nationwide US urban capture program. Capitalising on its success in the Australian market, Nearmap is planning to target government and enterprise customers with subscription service initially while offering a period of free access to small business and personal users. Neapmap provides high resolution imagery that updates frequently in a map browser compatible with Google and other search engines. Nearmap plans to capture 33 per cent of the US population by the middle of 2015 expanding on that into 2016. Nearmap US hopes to achieve sales of up to $50 million per year by December 2017. Shares in Nearmap are trading 7.77 per cent higher at $0.56.
Best and worst performers
The best performing sector is materials, gaining 0.6 per cent to 8,946. Shares in Fortescue Metals Group have risen 5.67 per cent and are trading at $3.44. Shares in Resolute Mining and Beadell Resources are also stronger.
The worst performing sector is industrials, falling 1.2 per cent to 3,862. Shares in Transfield Services have fallen 3.56 per cent, trading at $1.35. Shares in Aurizon and Leighton Holdings are also lower.
Gold and the dollar
Gold is trading at $US1,232 an ounce.
The Australian dollar is buying 86.99 US cents.
