Oil and gold slump starts the dump

The sharemarket plunged yesterday after big falls in gold and oil prices in the US overnight sent investors on a selling spree.
Resources companies endured the brunt of the profit-taking but banks and other industrial stocks also dragged down the bourse.
The ASX 200 dived 74 points to 4831.4 and the All Ordinaries slid 73.3 points to 4777.
ABN Amro Morgans private client adviser Bill Bishop said the market was "twitchy" after gold and oil prices slumped.
"The market has worked its way into a state of taking profits ahead of the reporting season, which is almost irrational," he said. "Rio [Tinto] turned in a wonderful result last week and even Rio's been caught in the downdraught today."
He said some offshore investors were heading elsewhere.
"Because the Australian market is fully valued, some of the smart money that comes in and out of the market has disappeared for Asia," he said.
"I don't think the market is saying the China boom is over, I think it's just that the profit takers have moved in."
BHP Billiton shrank $1.33 to $24.37 and Rio Tinto shed $2.31 to $72.75. Steel maker BlueScope dived 12 per cent, or 90c, to $6.56 after downgrading its 2005-06 earnings guidance.
Among energy stocks, Woodside fell $1.40 to $41.35, Oil Search shed 16c to $3.47 and Santos dropped 45c to $12.50.
Boral slipped 13c to $8.63 after its first-half net profit fell 9 per cent to $172 million because of the housing downturn, although recent factory upgrades are expected to boost the second half.
In banking, ANZ fell 23c to $24.78, Westpac 15c to $23.35, the Commonwealth 27c to $43.63 and NAB 8c to $35.
The media sector was also in the red. PBL declined 22c to $15.91 and John Fairfax dipped 5c to $3.99.
Goldminers were sold off after the price of gold fell $US19.50 to $US554.80 in US trade overnight, its biggest one-day fall in 13 years. Newmont fell 56c to $7.56, Newcrest sagged $1.50 to $25.17 and Lihir fell 12c to $2.17.
Property group Stockland eased 12c to $6.58 despite reporting a 9 per cent rise in first-half net profit and reaffirming its full-year targets for 2005-06.
Telco Optus reported a 5 per cent decline in quarterly net profit to $160 million as increased competition in the mobile market continued to hit its bottom line. Its owner, Singapore Telecom, edged up 2c to $2.13 while Telstra, which reports today, rose 1c to $4.03.
Telstra is expected to report a fall in first-half profit of about 12.5 per cent as fixed-line revenue continues to slide.
Medical technology company ResMed defied the gloom, soaring 11 per cent, or 57c, to $5.83 after a 25 per cent jump in first-half net profit as a result of strong sales.
Retail group Coles Myer also defied the market to gain 16c to $10.20. Rival Woolworths fell 2c to $17.15.
AACo fell half a cent to $1.695. Australia's biggest cattle farmer delivered an annual net profit of $16.78 million and said it wanted to establish a presence in Brazil.