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At midday, the S&P/ASX200 index was down 132 points, while the All Ordinaries fell 126.
On Monday, US stocks rebounded slightly from Friday’s near 400-point slide due to surging oil prices and rising unemployment. Monday’s reprieve came as McDonalds posted better than expected sales figures, and the housing market reported a rise in pending sales.
At Monday’s close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 70 points, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 15.
In Asian trading today, Japan’s Nikkei was down three points at noon, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 713.
Meanwhile making headlines on the ASX, Trevor O’Hoy, the CEO of beer and wine group Foster’s, announced his long-expected resignation this morning, as the company downgraded its earnings forecast and wrote down the value of its wine assets.
Foster's said disappointing US wine sales, and slower revenue growth in Australia, had dragged down its second-half performance. Foster’s expects fiscal 2008 profit of between $700 and $715 million, and said that the company would now review all aspects of its wine business as its search for a new CEO begins.
On a brighter note, electronics retailer JB Hi-Fi has hiked its 2008 profit forecast by as much as 12 per cent on the back of strong sales and cost controls.
The company now expects a $64 million profit for the full year, up from a previous forecast of around $60 million. The company is also tipping sales to rise by up to 30 per cent in fiscal 2009, despite falling consumer confidence. Shares in JB Hi-Fi were up by over eight percent at midday.
Finally, the number of online and print advertised jobs fell by as much as 1.7 per cent in May, according to an ANZ survey, as Australian companies feel the effects of the global economic uncertainty.
Job ads have fallen in three of the first five months in 2008, despite being 9.5 per cent up on last year’s figures. ANZ economist Sally Auld said higher interest rates and global financial turmoil had discouraged bosses from hiring new staff. She adde that a further slowdown in employment could be on the cards in coming months, easing pressure on the Reserve Bank for another rate hike.
In individual share price movements on the ASX this morning, resource stocks were mostly negative at noon. BHP Billiton was down 43 cents, Fortescue Metals lost 23, Rio Tinto dropped $2.84, while Woodside Petroleum added $1.12.
Banking stocks were the main drag on the market this morning with all the majors falling more than two per cent. ANZ fell 69 cents, Commonwealth Bank dropped $1.17, National Australia Bank lost $1.37, and Westpac shed $1.07.
Other major blue chips also slipped into the red this morning. AMP was down 17 cents at noon, News Corp dropped 67, Telstra fell five cents while Woolworths lost $1.26.
On Monday, US stocks rebounded slightly from Friday’s near 400-point slide due to surging oil prices and rising unemployment. Monday’s reprieve came as McDonalds posted better than expected sales figures, and the housing market reported a rise in pending sales.
At Monday’s close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 70 points, while the Nasdaq Composite slipped 15.
In Asian trading today, Japan’s Nikkei was down three points at noon, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 713.
Meanwhile making headlines on the ASX, Trevor O’Hoy, the CEO of beer and wine group Foster’s, announced his long-expected resignation this morning, as the company downgraded its earnings forecast and wrote down the value of its wine assets.
Foster's said disappointing US wine sales, and slower revenue growth in Australia, had dragged down its second-half performance. Foster’s expects fiscal 2008 profit of between $700 and $715 million, and said that the company would now review all aspects of its wine business as its search for a new CEO begins.
On a brighter note, electronics retailer JB Hi-Fi has hiked its 2008 profit forecast by as much as 12 per cent on the back of strong sales and cost controls.
The company now expects a $64 million profit for the full year, up from a previous forecast of around $60 million. The company is also tipping sales to rise by up to 30 per cent in fiscal 2009, despite falling consumer confidence. Shares in JB Hi-Fi were up by over eight percent at midday.
Finally, the number of online and print advertised jobs fell by as much as 1.7 per cent in May, according to an ANZ survey, as Australian companies feel the effects of the global economic uncertainty.
Job ads have fallen in three of the first five months in 2008, despite being 9.5 per cent up on last year’s figures. ANZ economist Sally Auld said higher interest rates and global financial turmoil had discouraged bosses from hiring new staff. She adde that a further slowdown in employment could be on the cards in coming months, easing pressure on the Reserve Bank for another rate hike.
In individual share price movements on the ASX this morning, resource stocks were mostly negative at noon. BHP Billiton was down 43 cents, Fortescue Metals lost 23, Rio Tinto dropped $2.84, while Woodside Petroleum added $1.12.
Banking stocks were the main drag on the market this morning with all the majors falling more than two per cent. ANZ fell 69 cents, Commonwealth Bank dropped $1.17, National Australia Bank lost $1.37, and Westpac shed $1.07.
Other major blue chips also slipped into the red this morning. AMP was down 17 cents at noon, News Corp dropped 67, Telstra fell five cents while Woolworths lost $1.26.
