(Adds Skilled Group, updates resource firms) 
    SYDNEY, May 1 (Reuters) - Australian shares fell 0.6 percent 
on Thursday as Westpac Banking Corp <WBC.AX> tracked other banks 
lower on nagging worries about the outlook for profits, though 
some resource firms recovered as oil and gold prices bounced 
back. 
    The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index <.AXJO> fell 35.3 points to 
5,560.1 by 0216 GMT, after falling 0.2 percent in the previous 
session. 
    New Zealand's benchmark NZX-50 index <.NZ50> nudged up 0.86 
point to 3,625.67. Top stock Telecom Corp Ltd <TEL.NZ> was up 1.6 
percent at NZ$3.84. 
    STOCKS ON THE MOVE 
    * Skilled Group Ltd <SKE.AX>, an Australian staffing 
provider, fell 9 percent to A$3.34 after it lowered its full-year 
net profit outlook, citing the effects of bad weather and project 
delays on building, mining and other construction industry 
clients. 
    Skilled said it now sees fiscal 2008 net profit between A$31 
million ($29 million) and A$35 million, compared to its February 
guidance of between A$35 million and A$38 million. 
    0209 GMT 
    * Resource firms turned positive after oil prices <CLc1> and 
gold <XAU=> recovered from the previous session's losses. 
    BHP Billiton Ltd <BHP.AX>, the world's top miner, edged up 
0.1 percent to A$42.30, having fallen nearly 1 percent earlier. 
    Gold miner Sino Gold <SGX.AX> rose 3.8 percent to A$5.20, 
while oil and gas firm Woodside Petroleum Ltd <WPL.AX> gained 1.7 
percent to A$56.85. 
    Woodside reiterated its 2008 production guidance of between 
80 to 86 million barrels of oil at its annual shareholders 
meeting on Thursday. 
    0209 GMT 
    * Coal seam gas producer Arrow Energy NL <AOE.AX> climbed 
14.1 percent to A$2.67 after it said third-quarter production 
rose 3 percent from the previous quarter, while total electricity 
sales grew 81 percent. 
    0134 GMT 
    * Coal producer Gloucester Coal Ltd <GCL.AX> rose 4.3 percent 
to A$10.26 after it said it had made a significant new coking 
coal discovery in the Gloucester Basin of New South Wales state 
[ID:nSYD320228]. 
    0133 GMT 
    * Westpac, Australia's fourth-biggest lender, dipped 0.1 
percent to A$24.46 after rising as much as 2.5 percent earlier in 
the session. 
    Westpac posted a 10 percent rise in first-half core profit 
but warned it expected banks to face slower loan growth, higher 
charges for bad loans to consumers and businesses, and saw higher 
funding costs continuing as Australian economic growth slowed 
[ID:nSYD330385]. 
    Among the other top banks, National Australia Bank Ltd 
<NAB.AX> fell 1.4 percent to A$29.79, Commonwealth Bank of 
Australia Ltd <CBA.AX> lost 1.7 percent to A$44.10 and Australia 
and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd <ANZ.AX> slipped 0.5 percent to 
A$21.79. 
    0112 GMT 
    * Investment group Allco Finance Ltd <AFG.AX> rose 8.6 
percent to A$1.14 after it said it had reached an agreement with 
financiers to extend the maturity of a A$250 million loan 
facility to May 30, from May 1 [ID:nSYD165386]. 
    Allco also said it faced a loss in excess of A$1.5 billion 
($1.4 billion) in fiscal 2008 due to writedowns, impairments, 
cheap asset sales and restructuring costs 
    0039 GMT 
 ($1=A$1.06) 
 (Reporting by Geraldine Chua) 
 (([email protected]; +61 2 9373 1818; Reuters 
Messaging: [email protected])) 
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