The market is down 72. The SFE Futures were down 62 this morning.

The Dow Jones closed down 135 overnight. Dow up 43 at best and down 229 at worst. The S&P 500 broke below a support level at 1225 (below the 50 day moving average) to close down 1.7% and reach its lowest level in a month. European stocks recorded their lowest close in six weeks. Bond yields in France, Italy and Spain continued to rise after a weak Spanish bond auction and despite ECB intervention. US economic data overnight was OK with new housing starts and jobless numbers better than expected. The oil price fell $3.80 to $98.79, Gold dropped $52.30 at $1722 and the Aussie dollar fell below parity to 99.97c from 100.81c.

Main points:

  • Aston Resources (AZT) down another 6% today after falling 11% yesterday on the back of their CFO and CEO resigning unexpectedly and majority shareholder Nathan Tinkler becoming Chairman.
  • Telstra (TLS) in their Investor Day briefing said they are on track to achieve their previously stated revenue guidance and plans to create a new division to manage its digital media interests. CEO Davis Thodey said there was strong sales momentum in the opening months of fiscal 2012. “Importantly, we are adding those new customers profitably and without sacrificing average revenues per customer”. TLS down 3c to 316c.
  • iiNet (IIN) is in a trading halt pending news of a  potential acquisition. It is suspected iiNet is the preferred bidder for ACT telco TransACT. IIN unchanged at 236c.
  • Brambles (BXB) has signed a $US135m service agreement with PepsiCo. They say the 3-year agreement would generate $US45m in sales revenue per year. BXB up 3c to 684c.
  • Monadelphous (MND) announces they have secured $140m in contracts. MND down 13c to 1899c.
  • Kathmandu (KMD) said sales jumped 16% in the 1st Q of fiscal 2012, in line with expectations. KMD down 1c to 194c.
  • One broker says Fortescue Metals (FMG) has the potential to double by FY14 saying it expects them to generate a net profit of $US8bn by then. FMG down 9c to 482c.
  • The directors of Adelaide Energy (ADE) have unanimously recommended that shareholders accept the takeover offer from Beach Petroleum (BPT) which equates to 20c a share in cash. BPT up 3c to 135c.
  • James Hardie released their 2nd Q earnings yesterday. All but one broker upped their target price this morning. The chart shows JHX hit a low in August and has been trading reasonably well since then. It is a cyclical play on the US housing market. JHX up 4c to 652c

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