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Aussie stocks started lower and continued the downward trend, losing 1.5% by the end of the day. Financial stocks and the miners spent the day trading well below the gain line ahead of the release of US unemployment data.

At the end of the day, the All Ords lost 68.1 to 4,721.2, while the ASX/200 fell 72.4 to 4,702.2. About 2.1 billion shares worth around $4.1 billion had changed hands. 

Materials and Resources weakened 2.2%, pacing a decline in the price of metals overnight.

BHP Billiton took 13 points off the index alone to be trading at $41.40, while rival Rio Tinto dropped $1.66, or 2.3% to $71.85. The two companies reaffirmed their commitment to the proposed Pilbara joint venture.

Bluescope slid 2.7% to $4.28.

A rise in the price of gold to record levels couldn’t stop Newcrest and Lihir shares from falling 2.3% and 4.1% to close at $38.30 and $3.53 respectively.

Building materials companies James Hardie and Boral fell 3.8% and 1.2% to $8.18 and $5.64.

Packaging giant Amcor put on 7c to $6.02.

Incitec Pivot rose 2c to $3.16 as it decided to place US$800 million in unsecured notes into the US 144A bond market rather than the Australian debt market. The company said the funds raised from the notes would be used to repay the remaining $352 million balance of the its Working Capital Facility entered into in March 2009.

The Energy sector lost 1%. Origin weakened 25c to $15.71 after the company said it would pay US$50 million to further the development of five exploration blocks across Asia as a part of a farm-in agreement with UK oil and gas explorer Salamander Energy.

Woodside shed 26c to $49.10.

Santos fell 1.7% to $14.90 and Oil Search added 0.3% to $6.02. As part of the PNG LNG project the two companies announced the positive news that Sinopec subsidiary Unipec Asia Co agreed to purchase million tonnes per annum of liquefied natural gas for a period of 20 years.

Whitehaven Coal jumped 19c, or 4.3% to $4.60 after being one of six companies added to the S&P/ASX 200.

Banks and Financials struggled to be down 1.3%. CBA was the best of the big four, down 15c to $53.96. Just after lunch the bank, Australia’s largest, raised interest rates by 37 basis points, splitting the RBA’s 25 point raise and Westpac’s 45 basis point rise. Westpac fell 42c to $24.04.

ANZ and NAB shed 1% and 2% respectively.

Macquarie Group lost 62c to $48.47, while IAG was the worst of the insurers, down 17c, or 1.3% to $3.82.

Stockland was 1.3% lower at $3.84, as a part of a Property Trusts sector which shed 1%.

Westfield lost 14c to $11.80.

Industrials weakened 0.9%, led by a 49c, or a 1.3% fall to $36.96 from sector heavyweight Leighton Holdings.

Skilled Group slumped 16.4% to $1.855 after saying it was likely to miss analysts FY10 earnings estimates.

One of the few stocks to make gains was ConnectEast Group. The toll-road operator’s shares climbed 1c to 41c after saying its Melbourne toll-road was earning 25% more than it was a year ago.

Consumer Discretionary weakened 2.4% on the back of a particularly disappointing day from retailers and gamers.

Harvey Norman and David Jones dropped 3.8% and 2.6% to $4.30 and $5.61 respectively, while Tabcorp and Crown lost 41c and 16c to be at $6.90 and $8.03.

Fairfax dipped 0.5c to $1.635. 

Consumer Staples slid 1% as Wesfarmers lost 50c, or 1.7% to $28.80 and Woolworths reversed a morning gain to be down 14c to $27.80.

Among the grain handlers, AWB shed 3.6% to $1.19 and Graincorp advanced 1.7% to $5.97. Harvest season for many crops is coming to an end across Australia.

Telstra lost 7c to $3.42 as the ACCC announced a freeze on the price the company can charge to allow competitors access to its home phone lines. The Telecommunications sector was 1.9% in the red.

Around the region, the Nikkei 225 lost 19.0 to 9,958.6, while the Straits Times Index slid 14.1 to 2,794.1. Meanwhile, the NZSE50 weakened 7.5 to 3,146.5. The Hang Seng shed 313.0 to 22,240.9

Spot gold was trading at US$1202.72 per ounce, and the Aussie was buying US$0.9227.  

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Sinopec to buy gas from PNG LNG project
The PNG LNG Project, which includes Santos and Oil Search, have finalised a binding agreement with Sinopec subsidiary Unipec Asia Co for the long-term sale and purchase of liquefied natural gas totaling approximately two million tonnes per annum. In a statement released this morning it said under the agreement, the PNG LNG Project would supply LNG to Sinopec for a period of 20 years.

At the close, Oil Search shares were trading up 2c to $6.02, while Santos shares were trading down 25c to $14.90.

Origin in US$50m farm-in with Salamander
Origin Energy said that it would pay US$50 million to further the development of five explorations blocks across Laos, Thailand and Vietnam as a part of a farm-in agreement with UK oil and gas explorer Salamander Energy.

At the end of the day, Origin shares were trading down 25c to $15.71.

Skilled Group slumps on earnings concerns
Skilled Group shares slumped 15.3% in morning trade after saying that it would be unlikely to meet the broad analysts consensus of $88 million in EBITDA for the current financial year. Skilled said the poor result was partly due to a corporate strategy aimed at rebuilding the company and delivering strong results from FY11 onwards.

At the bell, Skilled Group was down 36.5c to $1.855 

Substantial Shareholder Changes 
03 December 09

Symbol	Shareholder	+/-	Prior	Now
AWC	Wellington Management Co, LLP		6.22	5.12
AUN	National Australia Bank Limited		5.15	-
CRG	Commonwealth Bank of Aust.		-	5.00
MGR	National Australia Bank Limited		-	5.08
MGX	Fushan International Energy		-	14.32
SGM	Legg Mason Asset Mgt. Limited		7.36	5.88

All movements are percentage changes.

Australian stocks followed their peers on Wall Street lower as investors wait anxiously for the release of all important US jobs figures tonight. Resource stocks were the most heavily sold as every sector fell below the gain line.

At midday, the All Ords lost 51.5 to 4,737.8, while the ASX/200 fell 53.9 to 4,720.7. About 940 million shares worth around $1.5 billion had changed hands. 

Materials and Resources weakened 1.9% as metals prices fell on the London Metals Exchange overnight. The price of lead was down 3%, while copper slid 0.7%

BHP Billiton took almost 10 points off the index to be trading at $41.69, while rival Rio Tinto dropped $1.74, or 2.4% to $71.77.

Fortescue slid 3% to $4.27.

A rise in the price of gold to record levels couldn’t stop Newcrest and Lihir shares from falling 2.7% each. They were trading at $38.14 and $3.58 respectively.

Building materials companies James Hardie and Boral fell 4.1% and 2.8% to $8.15 and $5.55 respectively.

Incitec Pivot rose 1c to $3.15 as it decided to place US$800 million in unsecured notes into the US 144A bond market rather than the Australian debt market. The company said the funds raised from the notes would be used to repay the remaining  $352 million balance of the its Working Capital Facility entered into in March 2009.

Energy majors were relatively flat, however there were strong gains among the smaller capped companies.

The sector dipped 0.6% as concerns over high oil stocks continued to weigh on crude futures.

Origin weakened 5c to $15.91 after the company said it would pay US$50 million to further the development of five exploration blocks across Asia as a part of a farm-in agreement with UK oil and gas explorer Salamander Energy.

Woodside shed 11c to $49.25.

Santos shed 1.5% to $14.92 and Oil Search added 0.7% to $6.04. As part of the PNG LNG project the two companies announced the positive news that Sinopec subsidiary Unipec Asia Co agreed to purchase million tonnes per annum of liquefied natural gas for a period of 20 years.

Whitehaven Coal jumped 16c, or 3.6% to $4.57 after becoming one of six companies added to the S&P/ASX 200.

Banks and Financials struggled to be down 1%. CBA was the best of the big four, up 5c to $54.16. The other three were between 1% and 1.4% below the line.

Macquarie Group shed 93c to $48.16, while IAG was the worst of the insurers, down 15c, or 3.8% to $3.84.

Stockland underperformed a weak Property Trusts sector. The stock was 2.6% lower at $3.79, while the overall sector slid 1.1%.

Industrials lost 0.8%, led by a $1.15, or a 3.1% fall to $36.30 from sector heavyweight Leighton Holdings.

Skilled Group slumped 15.5% to $1.875 after saying it was likely to miss analysts FY10 earnings estimates.

Consumer Discretionary weakened 1.4% following a particularly disappointing morning from retailers and gamers.

Harvey Norman and David Jones dropped 3.4% and 2.1% to $4.32 and $5.64 respectively, while Tabcorp and Crown took a third of a point off the major index each to be trading at $7.16 and $8.07.

Media company Fairfax dipped 1.5c to $1.675.

A mixed start to the day from Consumer Staples resulted in it being the best performing sector, down just 0.3%.

Wesfarmers lost 22c to $29.08, while Woolworths gained 10c to $28.04.

Among the smaller companies, Goodman Fielder shed 2.7% to $1.60 and Graincorp advanced 2.6% to $6.02.

Telstra lost 4c to $3.45 as the ACCC announced a freeze on the price the company can charge to allow competitors access to its home phone lines. The Telecommunications sector was 1.1% in the red.

Around the region, the Nikkei 225 lost 35.2 to 9,942.5, while the Straits Times Index slid 11.1 to 2,797.1. Meanwhile, the NZSE50 weakened 8.7 to 3,145.2.

Spot gold was trading at US$1,202.20 per ounce, and the Aussie was buying US$0.9220. 

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Sinopec to buy gas from PNG LNG project
The PNG LNG Project, which includes Santos and Oil Search, have finalised a binding agreement with Sinopec subsidiary Unipec Asia Co for the long-term sale and purchase of liquefied natural gas totaling approximately two million tonnes per annum. In a statement released this morning it said under the agreement, the PNG LNG Project would supply LNG to Sinopec for a period of 20 years.

At lunchtime, Oil Search shares were trading up 4c to $6.04, while Santos shares were trading down 26c to $14.89.

Origin in US$50m farm-in with Salamander
Origin Energy said that it would pay US$50 million to further the development of five explorations blocks across Laos, Thailand and Vietnam as a part of a farm-in agreement with UK oil and gas explorer Salamander Energy.

At the close Thursday, Origin shares were trading down 5c to $15.91.

Skilled Group slumps on earnings concerns
Skilled Group shares slumped 15.3% in morning trade after saying that it would be unlikely to meet the broad analysts consensus of $88 million in EBITDA for the current financial year. Skilled said the poor result was partly due to a corporate strategy aimed at rebuilding the company and delivering strong results from FY11 onwards.

At noon, Skilled Group was down 34c to $1.88. 

Skilled Group Limited (SKE) shares slumped 15.3% in morning trade after saying that it would be unlikely to meet the broad analysts consensus of $88 million in EBITDA for the current financial year. Skilled said the poor result was partly due to a corporate strategy aimed at rebuilding the company and delivering strong results from FY11 onwards.

”Group revenue run rates are also improving but currently are slightly below the average revenue run rate of 2H FY2009,” the company said.

Blue collar labour hire, which is around 50% of SKE revenue, showed revenue was up 18% from July 2009, exceeding typical seasonal movements.

The Engineering and Marine Services division was lagging staffing hire services.

Maintenance and project engineering is yet to rebound although its order book is building.

”Offshore marine manning and vessel services is running a little below the average of 2H FY2009 and is yet to show a growth trend,” the company added. 

At 1137 AEDT, Skilled Group was down 34c to $1.88.