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At midday the S&P/ASX200 index was down 58 points, while the All Ordinaries fell 48.
US stocks fell by another one per cent on Wednesday following a worse-than-expected 57 per cent drop in quarterly earnings from the number two investment bank, Morgan Stanley.
At close of trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 131 points, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 28.
In Asian trading today, Japan’s Nikkei was down 293 points at noon, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 476.
In ASX news today…toll road operator Transurban announced a capital raising thought to be worth up to $1 billion.
Transurban said it is to raise the funds through a $659 million share placement which is thought to be going to Canadian pension fund CPP Investment Board. There is a separate $100 million share purchase plan and an underwritten distribution reinvestment plan. Transurban also downgraded its fiscal 2009 distribution guidance to 22 cents per security, down from 58 cents in February.
In other news, energy company Queensland Gas saw its shares rise almost ten per cent this morning following the announcement that it is set to increase its proven and probable coal seam gas reserves by 80 per cent.
In a statement, Queensland Gas said that following independent certification this month it expects its 2P reserves to rise to more than 2300 petajoules. The announcement has boosted the company’s LNG project with Britain’s BG Group.
Finally, troubled investment group Allco Finance today appointed former Consolidated Press Holdings executive Ray Fleming as its new Chief Financial Officer.
Yesterday shares in the company soared by more than 80 per cent following the announcement that it is to sell off its US wind farm in a bid to cut outstanding debts by about $230 million. At midday today, shares in the troubled group were down half-a-cent at 43 cents – a far cry from their peak of $13.23 last February.
In individual share price movements on the ASX this morning resource stocks were mixed at noon. BHP Billiton was down 22 cents, Fortescue Metals added 43, Rio Tinto fell $1.20, while Woodside Petroleum put on $2.15.
All the major banks made losses in morning trade. ANZ fell 56 cents, Commonwealth Bank dropped 58, National Australia Bank lost 82 cents, while Westpac dropped 70.
Other blue chips were also negative at noon. AMP was down 17 cents, News Corp dropped 41, Telstra fell 11 cents, while Woolworths lost 13.
US stocks fell by another one per cent on Wednesday following a worse-than-expected 57 per cent drop in quarterly earnings from the number two investment bank, Morgan Stanley.
At close of trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 131 points, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 28.
In Asian trading today, Japan’s Nikkei was down 293 points at noon, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 476.
In ASX news today…toll road operator Transurban announced a capital raising thought to be worth up to $1 billion.
Transurban said it is to raise the funds through a $659 million share placement which is thought to be going to Canadian pension fund CPP Investment Board. There is a separate $100 million share purchase plan and an underwritten distribution reinvestment plan. Transurban also downgraded its fiscal 2009 distribution guidance to 22 cents per security, down from 58 cents in February.
In other news, energy company Queensland Gas saw its shares rise almost ten per cent this morning following the announcement that it is set to increase its proven and probable coal seam gas reserves by 80 per cent.
In a statement, Queensland Gas said that following independent certification this month it expects its 2P reserves to rise to more than 2300 petajoules. The announcement has boosted the company’s LNG project with Britain’s BG Group.
Finally, troubled investment group Allco Finance today appointed former Consolidated Press Holdings executive Ray Fleming as its new Chief Financial Officer.
Yesterday shares in the company soared by more than 80 per cent following the announcement that it is to sell off its US wind farm in a bid to cut outstanding debts by about $230 million. At midday today, shares in the troubled group were down half-a-cent at 43 cents – a far cry from their peak of $13.23 last February.
In individual share price movements on the ASX this morning resource stocks were mixed at noon. BHP Billiton was down 22 cents, Fortescue Metals added 43, Rio Tinto fell $1.20, while Woodside Petroleum put on $2.15.
All the major banks made losses in morning trade. ANZ fell 56 cents, Commonwealth Bank dropped 58, National Australia Bank lost 82 cents, while Westpac dropped 70.
Other blue chips were also negative at noon. AMP was down 17 cents, News Corp dropped 41, Telstra fell 11 cents, while Woolworths lost 13.
