The market is down 119. The SFE Futures were down 115 this morning.

The Dow Jones closed down 3.2% or 389 overnight and was down 433 at worst. The S&P 500 was down 3.7%. Italian 10-year bond yields continued their rise to new high of 7.48%, which is the level at which it becomes difficult for Italy to access bond markets and at which Italian bond holders are implicitly factoring in some level of Italian default. Comments from the IMF MD that if Europe didn’t pull together they risked a decade of lost growth didn’t help. The Australian dollar fell by more than 2¢. The dollar is currently buying 101.47¢, down from 103.92¢ yesterday. The oil price fell 73c to $96.07 and Gold fell $24.20 to $1775.

Main points:

  • Santos (STO) expects oil and gas production in 2012 to be 51m-55m barrels of oil equivalent. Capital expenditure in 2012 is forecast at $3.75bn, up from a likely $3bn this year. STO down 2.5% to 1310c.
  • QR National (QRN) held their AGM and told shareholders floods continue to impact volumes in QLD. QRN down 2% 334.5c.
  • Asciano Group (AIO) said coal volumes hauled fell 9% on the year in the company’s 1st Q to 4.89bn net metric km due to falling export demand and delivery problems. AIO down 3% to 144.5c.
  • Challenger (CGF) said their CFO Brian Benari will be their new CEO, replacing Dominic Stevens when he steps down in February. CGF down 7% to 426c.
  • Echo Entertainment (EGP) told shareholders that revenue was higher in the 1st Q of the financial year and that earnings are expected to grow in the 2nd half. Performance for the quarter has been in line with expectations. EGP down 2% to 373c.
  • Extract Resources (EXT) – In a Trading Halt pending a major shareholder announcement relating to discussions between CGNPC Uranium Resources and Kalahan Minerals. EXT last traded at 790c.
  • Lynas Corp (LYC) is getting a hard time from the previous holder of exploration licenses at their Kangankunder rare earth deposit in Malawi. They are disputing the lapse of their rights on the site. LYC down 2.5c to 116.5c.
  • Westfield Group (WDC) sold their 75% stake in the Broadmarsh shopping centre in Nottingham in the UK for $86.66m. WDC down 2% to 787c.
  • The unemployment rate for October increased to 5.3%, from the originally reported 5.2% in September. The number of people in employment grew by 10,100 last month.
  • Both the National Australia Bank (NAB) and the ANZ Bank (ANZ) have gone 88c and 76c ex dividend today, respectively

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