Sorry, AAP news was for 11/10/11. here is for 12/10/11:
2011-10-12
Australian shares fell in morning trade, extending early losses on profit-taking investors.
The market opened half a per cent lower on Wednesday after dramatic falls on overseas metals markets and a weak start to the US reporting season overnight.
By noon (AEDT), both major local indices had drifted further down, with the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index shedding 43.1 points, or 1.02 per cent, at 4,184.5 and the broader All Ordinaries index dropping 42.3 points, or 0.99 per cent, to 4,246.5.
City Index chief market analyst Peter Esho said US aluminium giant Aloca's weak results at the start of the US reporting season had weighed on markets.
Energy stocks fell 2.1 per cent despite oil prices rising for the fifth straight session in New York on Tuesday.
Woodside Petroleum fell 55 cents, or 1.6 per cent to $35.04, while Santos plummeted 41 cents, or 3.2 per cent, to $12.25 and Oil Search shed 13 cents, or 2.2 per cent, to $5.93.
Materials also lost 2.2 per cent on the back of falls on offshore metals markets overnight. Mining giant BHP Billiton fell 77 cents, or 2.1 per cent, to $36.62 and Rio Tinto lost 2.3 per cent, or $1.56, to $66.44.
Fortescue Metals Group also dropped 3.7 per cent, or 18 cents, after it said it had increased its iron ore reserves at the Nyidinghu deposit by 980 million tonnes.
Typically defensive consumer staples were the only stocks to gain ground by noon, rising 0.28 per cent. Woolworths pulled the sector higher, gaining 1.3 per cent to $24.93.
Meanwhile, making headlines, wagering and gaming firm Tabcorp Holdings was the best performer on the ASX 100 after it reported its first quarter revenue rose by 2.7 per cent to $759.4 million compared to the same period last year.
Its shares jumped 3.9 per cent, or 10 cents, higher to $2.70.
Consumer electronics chain JB Hi-Fi slumped 1.3 per cent, or 18 cents, to $13.69 after it told its annual general meeting that comparable sales for the first quarter of the financial year were down 3.5 per cent on the same period last year.
The spot price of gold in Sydney was $US1,667.57 per fine ounce, down $US10.98 an ounce from Tuesday's close at $US1,678.55.
The December share price index futures contract was down 51 points at 4,187, with 17,366 contracts traded.
