[R]3:00AM New York, 7:00PM Sydney - ASX 200 index fell as reported earnings decline on rising operating costs and surging Australian dollar.[/R]

Market Sentiment

ASX 200 index fell 2.1% or 122.6 to close at 5,496.50

The Preliminary market turnover was 1.52 billion shares worth $6.8 billion, with 500 stocks moving up, 701 moving down and 339 unchanged. The most actively traded stock was Flinders Diamonds with 85.2 million shares worth $11.1 million.

Market Driver

Australian oil and gas producer, Woodside Petroleum Ltd indicated that it is considering injecting an additional $12 billion on the expansion of its biggest liquefied natural gas project this year as prices and demand for the fuel soar.

Woodside chief executive Don Voelte told in a conference call that the company was considering injecting the money for the first-phase of its Pluto 2 project by year-end. The project involves tapping gas from fields off northwestern Australia. The news was first reported on Bloomberg and AAP.

The company said it was also pursuing the approval of another project, Sunrise LNG, in the Timor Sea by 2009. The enactment of the LNG project would put the company in a position to benefit from demand that it predicts would double by 2015. Woodside''s share gained 4.6% on the news.

Meanwhile, Woodside today reported net profit after tax of $1,030 million, 28% lower from $1,427 million in the previous year, after realizing a net loss of $152.2 million on significant items.

By comparison, the company said allowance was made in the 2006 net after tax profit of $1,427.0 million for items relating to the sale of Kipper interests with a gain of $31.1 million.

After removing the effect of the one-time gains or losses from the sale of various assets, Woodside''s 2007 underlying net after tax profit of $1,182.4 million was 15% lower than the comparable profit in 2006.

This, the company said was largely due to a higher exchange rate, higher exploration expenses and increased depreciation and amortization charges which outweighed the benefits of both higher production and commodity prices.

Gainers and losers

Of the ASX 200 index stocks, MacMahon Holdings led the gainers with a rise of 9.5% followed by increases in CSL Limited of 9%, in Mount Gibson Iron of 6.1%, in Perilya Limited of 5.9%, and in Lynas Corp Limited of 5.8%.

Of the ASX 200 index stocks, AED Oil Limited led the decliners with a fall of 10.2% followed by losses in Riversdale Mining of 9.6%, in APN/UKA European of 9%, in Wesfarmers Limited of 7.5% and in Cochlear limited of 7.2%.

Macquarie Office Trust''s distributable earnings up 25%

Australia''s largest listed office property trust, Macquarie Office Trust today announced a 25% increase in its distributable earnings to $160.6 million representing 7.94 cents per unit during the half year ended December 2007.

The company said gains on the sale of assets in Australia and the U.S. contributed $47.4 million or 2.34 cents per unit in the six months while normalized distributable earnings were 5.6 cents per unit. The company was set to raise an additional $3.7 million after the sale of Lang Centre.

Macquarie said it achieved an average 29% leveraged return on 8 asset sales over the past three years. However net income fell to $244.1 million from $455.6 million in the year-earlier period after valuation gains plunged 44%.

Macquarie Office Trust''s chief executive, Adrian Taylor said, ""The Trust''s strategy and the strength of its portfolio have delivered a solid result. The quality of the Trust''s portfolio continues to attract premium customers, securing high occupancy rates and long weighted average lease expires, which in turn delivers more stable cash flow."" Its shares fell 5%.