The market is getting belted today despite Wall St being up. ASX 200 down 64. The SFE Futures were down 35 this morning.

Wall St. closed up 7. Dow up 37 at best and down 46 at worst. The Greek issue came into the picture again overnight as they look likely to tap the EU and IMF for emergency funds. eBay fell 8.1% in after-hours trading on results. Oil price fell 46c to $83.50 and Gold put on $5 to $1144. The Aussie dollar fell to 92.67c versus 93.21c yesterday morning.

In the news today…

  • Wesfarmers (WES) down 3% to 3023c after announcing 3rd quarter sales numbers. Patersons maintain their HOLD recommendation and says WES has set a high bar for Woolworths (WOW), when they too announced their numbers in eight days time. Number were below consensus with caution about the 4th Q and may lead to downgrades rather than upgrades in the research tomorrow.
  • Newcrest (NCM) released their third Q production numbers and yet again downgraded full year production guidance, this time to 65,000-75,000 from previous estimates of 75,000-85,000 ounces and said that overall guidance is expected to be at the lower end of expectations across the board. NCM down 2.5% to 3372c.
  • Commonwealth Bank (CBA) has made their first move into the Asian region by acquiring a 15% stake in the Vietnamese International Bank and can apply for a 20% stake after an unspecified period of time. It seems as if the CBA doesn’t want the ANZ to have it all its own way in Asia. CBA down 76c to 5879c
  • Santos (STO) announced that gas from their Kipper project is now expected in the 2nd half of 2011 after receiving an update from their operator ExxonMobil. STO down 19c to 1402c.
  • CSR Ltd announced that the Federal Court is due to deliver its decision on their blocked demerger appeal tomorrow. CSR up 0.5c to 171c.
  • Iluka Resources (ILU) said 1st Q minerals sands production fell 24% to 370,200 metric tons but demand is recovering. ILU down 2.5%\
  • Independence Group (IGO) announced it will have a 30% stake in Musgrave Minerals and plans to list the group on the ASX. Musgrave are in base metals exploration, primarily in nickel. IGO up 7c to 476c.
  • Street Talk says Navitas (NVT) may make a play for education provider Study Group. NVT is an education services provider that is up 122.4% in the past year. NVT up 8c to 524c.
  • PMP Ltd (PMP) up 5% to 75c after retaining their Woolworths printing contract.
  • Companies hitting fresh yearly highs: Automotive Holdings (AHE), FKP Property (FKP).

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