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At midday the S&P/ASX200 index was down 59 points, while the All Ordinaries fell 57.
US stocks fell sharply on Friday as oil prices continued to surge, and the banking sector warned of further sub-prime related write-downs.
The Dow Jones closed below 12,000 points for the first time since March, down 220 points at the bell, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 55 points.
In Asian trading today, Japan’s Nikkei was down 162 points at noon, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 338.
In ASX news today takeover target Indophil Resources this morning increased its stake in its major asset, the Tampakan copper mine in the Philippines, to 34 per cent. Suitor Xstrata holds 62 per cent.
This follows yesterday’s news that Xstrata is to raise its initial $398 million takeover bid for Indophil, to match a rival $488 million bid put forward by a consortium on Friday.
In related news, Indophil this morning urged shareholders of Lion Selection to vote against selling 17 per cent of its 25 per cent stake in Indophil to Xstrata.
Indophil said in a statement that Lion Selection shareholders stood to benefit from further upside in Indophil’s share price as the takeover tussle for the company continues.
Finally, shares in Macarthur Coal were placed in a trading halt this morning as major shareholder Ken Talbot announced he was quitting the board. Macarthur said the move would give Talbot greater flexibility to deal with his 19.76 per cent stake in the company.
It's believed that Talbot’s move may foreshadow a potential bidding war for Macarthur, with the world’s top steelmaker ArcelorMittal, and China’s CITIC Resources, already holding substantial interests in the company.
In individual share price movements on the ASX this morning resource stocks were mixed. BHP Billiton was down 71 cents at midday, Fortescue Metals added 49, Rio Tinto fell $3.04, while Woodside Petroleum added $1.31.
The major banks all lost ground in morning trade. ANZ was down 36 cents at midday, Commonwealth Bank fell 72, National Australia Bank slipped three cents while Westpac dropped 40.
Other blue chips were mixed at noon. AMP was down 14 cents, News Corp dropped 55, Telstra gained a cent, while Woolworths added nine.
US stocks fell sharply on Friday as oil prices continued to surge, and the banking sector warned of further sub-prime related write-downs.
The Dow Jones closed below 12,000 points for the first time since March, down 220 points at the bell, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 55 points.
In Asian trading today, Japan’s Nikkei was down 162 points at noon, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 338.
In ASX news today takeover target Indophil Resources this morning increased its stake in its major asset, the Tampakan copper mine in the Philippines, to 34 per cent. Suitor Xstrata holds 62 per cent.
This follows yesterday’s news that Xstrata is to raise its initial $398 million takeover bid for Indophil, to match a rival $488 million bid put forward by a consortium on Friday.
In related news, Indophil this morning urged shareholders of Lion Selection to vote against selling 17 per cent of its 25 per cent stake in Indophil to Xstrata.
Indophil said in a statement that Lion Selection shareholders stood to benefit from further upside in Indophil’s share price as the takeover tussle for the company continues.
Finally, shares in Macarthur Coal were placed in a trading halt this morning as major shareholder Ken Talbot announced he was quitting the board. Macarthur said the move would give Talbot greater flexibility to deal with his 19.76 per cent stake in the company.
It's believed that Talbot’s move may foreshadow a potential bidding war for Macarthur, with the world’s top steelmaker ArcelorMittal, and China’s CITIC Resources, already holding substantial interests in the company.
In individual share price movements on the ASX this morning resource stocks were mixed. BHP Billiton was down 71 cents at midday, Fortescue Metals added 49, Rio Tinto fell $3.04, while Woodside Petroleum added $1.31.
The major banks all lost ground in morning trade. ANZ was down 36 cents at midday, Commonwealth Bank fell 72, National Australia Bank slipped three cents while Westpac dropped 40.
Other blue chips were mixed at noon. AMP was down 14 cents, News Corp dropped 55, Telstra gained a cent, while Woolworths added nine.
