The market is down 65. The SFE Futures were down 70 this morning.

Wall Street closed down 126. The Dow closed just above the 10,000 mark but at its lowest level since February 10. The Dow was up 3 at best and down 141 at worst and lost 80 points in the last 15 minutes of trade. Financials were the worst performing sector. Both oil and gold rebounded. Gold was up a big $17.90 at $1194. The Aussie dollar is now at 82.43c compared to 82.98c yesterday morning.

In other news today…

  • The AFR repeats the old takeover rumour of ASX Ltd (ASX) bidding for IRESS Market Technology (IRE) this morning. Hasn’t had much impact. ASX down 16c to 3120c and IRE down 23c to 807c.
  • The Takeover Panel has received an application from Transurban’s majority shareholder, CP2 Ltd, to stop TCL from going ahead with their planned rights issue. TCL down 1c to 440c.
  • The ACCC is seeking a $40m penalty from Telstra (TLS) to penalise them for refusing competitor access to Telstra-controlled telephone exchanges to set up customers’ broadband access. TLS down 1c to 294c.
  • Foster’s Group (FGL) says their US wine division has signed distribution agreements with The Charmer Sunbelt Group to sell Foster’s wine in New York, Maryland and Washington DC. Hasn’t done much for the share price. FGL down 6c to 521c.
  • The Australian says Sigma Pharmaceuticals (SIP) has appointed advisors to source other potential bidders in a hope of securing a higher takeover price after their recent bid at 60c. SIP down 1c to 48c.
  • Brookfield Multiplex has abandoned plans to float a $4 billion office property fund. According to Street Talk, it has close ties to the Future Fund which is looking for local office assets.
  • Gindalbie Metals (GBG) say returns from their Karara iron ore project in WA will be affected by the RSPT, putting future expansions at risk. GBG up 0.5c to 97.5c.
  • Woolworths (WOW) announced yesterday they had acquired Gunns’ hardware chain in Tasmania for $40m as it looks to challenge Wesfarmers-owned Bunnings. WOW outperforming today — up 7c to 2680c.
  • Aquila Resources (AQA) announces that coal reserves at the Washpool hard coking coal project at Bowen Basin are more than 34% greater than previously estimated. Despite the news, AQA is down 31c today to 3.56%.
  • Silverlake Resources (SLR) up 5.3% to 127c after announcing a “Magic Intersection” at their Mount Monger Operations.
  • Stocks hitting fresh 52 week lows include:  Capral Ltd (CAA), Gunns (GNS) and Platinum Australia (PLA)

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