Exxon Mobil Corporation

US shares fell on Thursday as the services sector index declined unexpectedly in November. The contraction also hurt sentiment ahead of the release of unemployment figure.

Wall Street declined modestly overnight as bearish analyst comments hurt bank shares. Analysts with UBS predicted the capital market's seasonal slowing could come earlier this year, cutting its fourth-quarter earnings target for Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan and others.

Wall Street hit new highs for the year over optimism of the corporate earnings. The rise was led by Caterpillar as a broker said the company was among the best-positioned companies to benefit from improving global growth and spending on construction, infrastructure and commodities.

As a further update to the ASX, NewSat Limited (ASX:NWT)(OTC:NWTLY) today announced several new business contracts that were signed during the months of July and August. These new contracts have enabled continued new business growth, which has totalled A$3.5 million so far this financial year.

Last Friday, the Australian shares ended higher for the first time in a week. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index gained 7.5 points, or 0.19 per cent, to 3,899.6 points, and the broader All Ordinaries index advanced 7 points, or 0.18 per cent, at 3894.4 points.

Asian markets ended higher on Wednesday. Tokyo stocks jumped 2.7% as yen's weakness boosted the Japanese exporters. South Korea and China markets delivered a modest rise of 0.3% each. Hong Kong's Hang Seng surged 1.6%.

On Wednesday, the Australian sharemarket closed lower despite a positive start led by rally on Wall Street overnight. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was down 23.6 points, or 0.67 per cent, at 3,499.63 while the broader All Ordinaries index shed 29.9 points, or 0.85 per cent, to 3,483.23. The market has lost half its value, or A$804 billion in just over one year. Analysts say that the overall trend may not change without catalyst for the market to go up while the overseas will pull the Australia market lower each time it seems to hit the bottom.