The market is having another shocker – down 153 or 4% - on the back of heavy falls on Wall Street overnight. Resources are doing most of the damage – down 6.5% overall – BHP down a big 8% and RIO down 4.7%. All the big four banks are struggling as well. Macquarie Group down 7.4%. Asciano which fell 70% on Monday is up 40.9% today.
Is this a precursor to a bigger play, or a clever raid aimed at putting a foot on a solid portfolio of businesses currently not in the acquirer's asset base?
Incitec Pivot Ltd, the country's major fertiliser group, is expecting a slower, but still solid earnings in the 2009 year after tripling net profit after tax (NPAT) (including individually material items) to $614.3 million in the year to September 30, compared with $205.3 million in 2007.
Asciano Group securities bounced back yesterday, regaining the ground lost in Tuesday morning's sharp sell off that stripped nearly 60% off the company's value from the share price.
Consumer and business confidence are moving in different directions.
The housing and building slump around the world continues to take its toll on listed players in our neck of the woods.
Australian shares have closed below 4000 points after business confidence sank to a record low. Analysts said the market with thin trading volumes was plagued by the negative sentiment concerning global recession. Resources sector would lead the market lower as oil prices fell below $US60.
