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Both major Australian indices lost more than two per cent in morning trade and at midday, the S&P/ASX200 index was down 118 points, while the All Ordinaries fell 111.
US stocks sank almost two per cent on Wednesday as crude oil prices surged by more than $5 a barrel, stoking worried about rising inflation.
At the bell the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 205 points, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 54.
In Asian trading today, Japan’s Nikkei was down 321 points at noon, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 549.
In ASX news today, shares in energy fund Babcock & Brown Power plunged more than 30 per cent this morning following its announcement that a recent gas supply disruption was likely to have a negative impact on earnings.
In a statement the company said that it expected a short-term reduction in earnings following a supply disruption, caused by the Apache Corp processing plant fire in Western Australia. However Babcock & Brown Power said that impact on 2008 and 2009 earnings was not expected to be material.
Meanwhile in economic news, data released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed a surprise slump in the national employment market in May.
The ABS figures show that full and part-time employment fell by almost 20,000 jobs in May, in stark contrast to the 13,500 thousand rise predicted by economists.
Experts now say that this fall in employment, on the back of weak retail figures and higher petrol prices, means official interest rates are likely to remain on hold in 2008.
In individual share price movements on the ASX this morning resource stocks reacted to lower metal and higher oil prices. BHP Billiton was down $1.56 at noon, Fortescue Metals lost 25 cents, Rio Tinto fell $3.69, Woodside Petroleum added 37 cents.
All the major banking stocks were negative at midday. ANZ was down 44 cents, Commonwealth Bank dropped $1.13, National Australia Bank fell $1.23, Westpac shed 61 cents.
Other blue chips also lost ground. AMP was down 19 cents at noon, News Corp fell 35, Telstra slipped two cents while Woolworths lost 37.
US stocks sank almost two per cent on Wednesday as crude oil prices surged by more than $5 a barrel, stoking worried about rising inflation.
At the bell the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 205 points, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 54.
In Asian trading today, Japan’s Nikkei was down 321 points at noon, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 549.
In ASX news today, shares in energy fund Babcock & Brown Power plunged more than 30 per cent this morning following its announcement that a recent gas supply disruption was likely to have a negative impact on earnings.
In a statement the company said that it expected a short-term reduction in earnings following a supply disruption, caused by the Apache Corp processing plant fire in Western Australia. However Babcock & Brown Power said that impact on 2008 and 2009 earnings was not expected to be material.
Meanwhile in economic news, data released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed a surprise slump in the national employment market in May.
The ABS figures show that full and part-time employment fell by almost 20,000 jobs in May, in stark contrast to the 13,500 thousand rise predicted by economists.
Experts now say that this fall in employment, on the back of weak retail figures and higher petrol prices, means official interest rates are likely to remain on hold in 2008.
In individual share price movements on the ASX this morning resource stocks reacted to lower metal and higher oil prices. BHP Billiton was down $1.56 at noon, Fortescue Metals lost 25 cents, Rio Tinto fell $3.69, Woodside Petroleum added 37 cents.
All the major banking stocks were negative at midday. ANZ was down 44 cents, Commonwealth Bank dropped $1.13, National Australia Bank fell $1.23, Westpac shed 61 cents.
Other blue chips also lost ground. AMP was down 19 cents at noon, News Corp fell 35, Telstra slipped two cents while Woolworths lost 37.
