After a healthy start the Aussie market has pulled back quite sharply so far this morning, with the XJO peeling off a high of 4256 to currently be trading near 4220.

The sectors are fairly evenly balanced with materials and industrial plays leading the way, whilst IT and consumer staples issues are struggling.

In company news, Iluka is up more than 5% after delivering strong quarterly results and reaffirming their FY12 guidance.

In economic news, the unemployment rate fell from a 10-month high to 5.2% in September.

Total employment rose by 20,400, against an expected increase of 10,000 and an unchanged jobless rate of 5.3%.

Around the region, Asian markets are mixed; the Hang Seng and Nikkei are up approximately 1% each, whilst the Shanghai Composite is down 0.4%.