Without a lead from Wall Street, Aussie shares drifted 1% lower by lunch. A drop in base metal prices on the London Metals Exchange on Friday saw the resources and energy stocks the hardest hit on a morning where every sector was below the line.
In a quiet news day, at lunch the All Ords was down 52.7 to 3,773.9, while the ASX/200 had lost 55.7 to 3,772.5. Over 750 million shares, or $1 billion had changed hands.
Heavyweights BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto shed 2.4% each, while the broader Materials and Resources sector lost 2.2%.
Steelmakers Bluescope and Onesteel retreated 2.4% and 2.1% respectively, while Sims Group and Fortescue were down 2.5% and 2.8%.
OZ Minerals bucked the trend adding 1.2%.
Gold miners were also in negative territory with Lihir Gold, Newcrest and Sino Gold giving up 1.7%, 0.8% and 3.1% respectively.
Western Areas and Mirabella Nickel were among the biggest losers, down 6% and 6.6%.
Materials producers for the building industry were mixed. James Hardie was unchanged, while Boral lost 1.8% and Fletcher Building rose 0.4%.
Banks and Financials retreated 1.1%, reflecting similar drops in the big four banks. ANZ and CBA lost 1% each, while Westpac was down 0.9%. NAB drifted a modest 0.2% lower.
Macquarie Group lost 1.2%, hovering around similar levels for several weeks.
Insurers were all lower, though QBE was barely down having dipped 0.1%, while AXA Asia Pacific slumped 3.5%.
Challenger Financial Services helped to cap losses for the sector, adding 0.5%.
The Energy sector was the most heavily sold of the morning, being down 2.5% at lunch.
Woodside and Origin Energy lost 2% each. Oil Search dipped 1.5%, while Santos slumped 4%.
Karoon Gas and Arrow Energy were 4.9% and 0.6% cheaper respectively.
Felix and Energy Resources Australia lost 0.6% each.
Consumer Staples drifted 0.5% lower.
Rivals Woolworths and Wesfarmers dipped 0.3% and 0.9% respectively, while second-tier Metcash shed 0.5%.
Drink makers Foster’s and Coca-Cola Amatil retreated 0.6% each, while Lion Nathan was unmoved.
Grain handlers ABB and AWB lost 1% and 0.8% respectively.
Consumer Discretionary slumped 1.5%, with retailers setting the low water mark. JB Hi-Fi and Harvey Norman lost 4.1% and 4.4% respectively, while David Jones gave up 2.5%.
Gamers were lower, with Crown and Aristocrat off by 1.6% and 4.1% respectively. Tabcorp and Tatts shed a more modest 0.6% and 0.4%.
Among media stocks Newscorp and Fairfax sank 0.9% and 1.3%. TV stations Ten and Seven were 0.4% and 2% lower.
Property Trusts were 1.2% lower, with Lend Lease and Dexus down 0.7% each. Westfield was similar, down 0.8%.
Stockland slumped 2.8%, while Mirvac lost 1.9%.
Telecommunications shed 1.4%, due largely to a 1.5% loss by sector heavyweight Telstra.
Cochlear lost 1.8%, despite the release of a new product to the market and a profit upgrade.
The broader Healthcare sector retreated 1.4%, with Sonic Healthcare being one of only a few companies in the sector above the line adding 0.1%.
The Utilities sector and Industrials sector both lost 0.9%. Among industrial stocks, Brambles, Leightons and CSR shed 1.1%, 1% and 1.5%.
Downer EDI fell 1.9%, while Qantas and Asciano sank 2.6% and 3.1%. Macquarie Airports rose 1.9%.
Utilities giant AGL Energy lost 1.5%.
Around the region, the Nikkei 225 fell 144.4 to 9,671.6, the Straits Times Index shed 23.0 to 2,276.8 and NZSE50 lost 15.4 to 2,746.1.
Spot gold was trading at US$929.55 per ounce and the Aussie was buying US$0.7932.
Leighton agrees to deliver Indian project
Leighton Holdings announced the signing of a project alliance agreement with Tata Realty and Infrastructure to deliver the Ramanujan IT Park in Chennai, India. Worth US$230m, the contract involves the design, construction and commissioning of the project.
At midday, Leighton shares were down 15c to $22.22.
Watpac secures $62m RMIT contract
Watpac said its construction division has been awarded the $62 million construction contract of the RMIT University Design Hub. The company said construction of the 12,000 metres squared building would begin immediately and is expected to be complete by mid-2011.
At lunch, Watpac shares were up 3c to $1.28.
Nexus' Longtom project interrupted
Nexus Energy advised that the offshore construction work for the Longtom gas project in the Gippsland Basin, offshore Victoria, has been interrupted. The company said the delays were a result of the demobilisation of a diving support vessel due to a contractual dispute in relation to its ongoing charter.
At noon, Nexus shares were down 1c to 32.5c.
