The Aussie market has tracked Friday night's weakness in international markets so far today, with the XJO currently down approximately 50 points (-1.1%), at 4150.

Most sectors are weaker, with materials and financials amongst the worst performers.

QBE is bucking the broader trend, currently 2.6% stronger, whilst Harvey Norman is also keeping its head above water and Leightons is holding strong towards the top of the 200 leaderboard, up more than 4% on a better profit outlook.

In economic news, employment prospects appear to be contracting with job ads falling for the first time in almost a year.

Job ads retreated 0.9% in December after a flat reading in the previous month. From a year earlier ads were down 2.6%, marking the first annual contraction since February 2010.

Around the region, Asian markets are all weaker; the Hang Seng is off 0.8%, whilst the Nikkei down 1.7%.

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Midday Market Analysis: Soft Aussie is a post from: Australian Stock Report Market Pulse Blog