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An interesting day; a new record, but a weak close - and some very interesting stuff in between.
Foodland (FOA) rocketed 21.55% to $23.35 after Metcash (MTT) declared its desire to purchase FOA's Australian operations. MTT has set its bid to value the domestic operations of FOA at about $850 million; today's move in the stock price added almost half of that amount to FOA's market cap (it was $2.2 bill as of Friday afternoon - its' now $2.7 bill).
FOA Daily Chart
Any bets for what the ticket-clippers and their pimps are yelling?
Yes, that's right... "since NFD has claimed that its shares are worth 22% more than the Fonterra offer, it stands to reason that FOA's management will also try to get a higher offer from MTT".
Metcash shares were halted today, but it appears to me that they've got their sums horribly wrong. Either FOA's management are idiots who aren't running their operations properly, or the bid is far too high. Still, when managements meet merchant wankers and everybody gets deal fever, it usually turns out that no price is too high to pay. It becomes a matter of "pride", and by the end nobody is prepared to back off (just like the US in Vietnam).
MTT Daily Chart
After all, there is the inevitable requirement for both the merchant wankers and the folks who initiate the takeover - for everyone's egos to be stroked in the manner to which they feel they are owed... at shareholders expense, of course.
On the flip side of the Consumer Staples ledger, Lion Nathan (LNN, last $8.24) looked like it fell 2.74%... but the stock went ex a 15c dividend today. So although it didn't "carry" its dividend (it fell by 1c more than the divvie), it actually only fell by 1c relative to its "normal" ex-div price.
[Note - since when was booze a "staple"? Call me a prude, but if the economically indigent started agitating on the basis that they couldnt afford their tipple, I would say "let them drink sports water" - manufactured by another so-called "staple" producer... Coca Cola Amatil!!! Wankers and their sector names, eh?].
Caltex (CTX, +3.27% to $10.12) continued to improve, this time on news that its refinery margins have risen dramatically - from around A$5 a barrel to as much as A$12-13 a barrel.
Cellestis (CST, +14.47% to $3.64) was on a mad dash, as news of the FDA approval of QuantiFeron - it's TB blood test - continued to give the stock a boost (it hit $3.80 during the session). CST also announced a Share Purchase Plan... of which, more later.
Major Market Indices
The market poked its head up to a new record in the early going, led by the big banks; after getting as high as 3964.8 on the ASX200 (a new record) and 3977 in the SPI futures, something happened.
That something appears to have been Japan; the Nikkei opened weak and despite a couple of rally attempts it never recovered; the weakness in the All Ords/SPI coincided with, and moved in lock-step with, the fate of the Nikkei.
The Aussie market peaked a teensy bit earlier than the Nikkei, but it was only by 10-15 minutes - during which time the Nikkei was trying to mount its third rally attempt of the day (which failed).
Spi Intraday - 5 min Chart
Nikkei intraday - 5 min Chart
The "heavy hitters" of the Australian market - the ASX 20 Leaders - could only manage a gain of 0.50 points (0.02%), finishing at 2101.10 points. The major winners in the "big guns" were -
- Foster's Group (FGL), +$0.08 (1.46%) to $5.55 on volume of 4.27 million shares;
- Wesfarmers (WES), +$0.54 (1.41%) to $38.84 on volume of 1.47 million shares;
- ANZ Bank (ANZ), +$0.18 (0.9%) to $20.15 on volume of 2.98 million shares;
- AMP (AMP), +$0.06 (0.87%) to $6.92 on volume of 6.4 million shares; and
- Coles Myer (CML), +$0.07 (0.7%) to $10.01 on volume of 2.31 million shares.
Meanwhile the following stocks brought up the rear:
- Rio Tinto (RIO), -$0.50 (1.26%) to $39.20 on volume of 2.67 million shares;
- Woolworths (WOW), -$0.18 (1.21%) to $14.75 on volume of 1.94 million shares;
- News Corpse B (NWS), -$0.26 (1.11%) to $23.10 on volume of 2.84 million shares;
- News Corpse A (NWSLV), -$0.21 (0.92%) to $22.64 on volume of 1.75 million shares; and
- Commonwealth Bank (CBA), -$0.15 (0.47%) to $31.43 on volume of 2.45 million shares.
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| XAO | All Ordinaries | 3959.9 | 8.5 | 0.22% | 417.98m |
| XTL | S&P/ASX 20 | 2101.1 | 0.5 | 0.02% | 75.6m |
| XFL | S&P/ASX 50 | 3874 | 8.2 | 0.21% | 148.11m |
| XTO | S&P/ASX 100 | 3207.2 | 9.2 | 0.29% | 253.11m |
| XJO | S&P/ASX 200 | 3950.5 | 11 | 0.28% | 318.43m |
| XKO | S&P/ASX 300 | 3959 | 11.3 | 0.29% | 370.09m |
| XMD | S&P/ASX Mid-Cap 50 | 3936.5 | 30.2 | 0.77% | 104.99m |
| XSO | S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries | 2311.1 | 5.8 | 0.25% | 116.98m |
All Ordinaries Market Internals
| Advances | 202 |
| Declines | 172 |
| Advancing Volume | 221.06m |
| Declining Volume | 118.15m |
Broad Market Internals
| Indicator | Level | +/- | % |
| Advances | 428 | 34 | 8.63 |
| Declines | 464 | -69 | -12.95 |
| Unchanged | 297 | 20 | 7.22 |
| Total Traded Value | 2250 | -412 | -15.48 |
| New 52 Week Highs | 60 | 11 | 22.45 |
| New 52 Week Lows | 12 | -1 | -7.69 |
| Equity Call Option Volume | 29067 | -4265 | -12.8 |
| Equity Put Option Volume | 26714 | 3338 | 14.28 |
S&P/ASX200 GICS Sector Indices
The top sectors were led by Energy which gained 1.39% to 6969.30 points. The leaders (by percentage gain) in the sector were -
- Caltex Aust (CTX), +$0.34 (3.47%) to $10.14 on volume of 1.19 million shares;
- Hardman Resources (HDR), +$0.05 (3.27%) to $1.58 on volume of 6.18 million shares;
- Santos (STO), +$0.22 (2.61%) to $8.64 on volume of 1.56 million shares;
- Origin Energy (ORG), +$0.17 (2.5%) to $6.96 on volume of 2.87 million shares;
- Arc Energy (ARQ), +$0.02 (1.48%) to $1.37 on volume of 482 thousand shares;
Second in the sector leadership stakes was Consumer Staples (have I mentioned that I hate that name?) which gained 0.96% to 5475.00 points. The sector leaders were -
- Foodland (FOA), +$4.14 (21.55%) to $23.35 on volume of 1.89 million shares;
- Futuris Corp (FCL), +$0.06 (2.86%) to $2.16 on volume of 1.7 million shares;
- AWB (AWB), +$0.09 (1.92%) to $4.78 on volume of 500 thousand shares;
- Foster's Group (FGL), +$0.08 (1.46%) to $5.55 on volume of 4.27 million shares;
- National Foods (NFD), +$0.07 (1.21%) to $5.86 on volume of 1.18 million shares;
The bronze today went to Utilities which gained 0.86% to 4353.10 points. Leading the sector were -
- Pacific Hydro (PHY), +$0.19 (5.07%) to $3.94 on volume of 1.14 million shares;
- Aust Pipeline (APA), +$0.07 (2.24%) to $3.20 on volume of 120 thousand shares;
- Alinta (ALN), +$0.12 (1.54%) to $7.89 on volume of 925 thousand shares;
- Gasnet Australia (GAS), +$0.02 (0.82%) to $2.45 on volume of 112 thousand shares;
- Aust Gas Light (AGL), +$0.09 (0.69%) to $13.15 on volume of 944 thousand shares;
The worst-performed sector today was Materials which lost 0.09% to 6552.20 points. The leaders in the sector were -
- CSR (CSR), +$0.09 (3.44%) to $2.71 on volume of 3.21 million shares;
- Gunns (GNS), +$0.11 (2.56%) to $4.41 on volume of 676 thousand shares;
- Lion Select (LSG), +$0.04 (1.78%) to $2.29 on volume of 390 thousand shares;
- Boral Limited (BLD), +$0.12 (1.74%) to $7.01 on volume of 3.06 million shares;
- Smorgon Steel (SSX), +$0.02 (1.67%) to $1.22 on volume of 2.18 million shares;
Just in front of the last place on the sector table was Consumer Discretionary which lost 0.08% to 2357.30 points. The leaders (by percentage gain) in the sector were -
- West Aust News (WAN), +$0.28 (3.23%) to $8.95 on volume of 218 thousand shares;
- Unitab (UTB), +$0.24 (2.16%) to $11.35 on volume of 166 thousand shares;
- Tabcorp Holdings (TAH), +$0.32 (1.85%) to $17.65 on volume of 1.17 million shares;
- John Fairfax (FXJ), +$0.08 (1.84%) to $4.42 on volume of 2.69 million shares;
- Austereo Group (AEO), +$0.03 (1.79%) to $1.71 on volume of 1.19 million shares;
| Code | GICS Sector | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| XEJ | Energy | 6969.3 | 95.6 | 1.39% | 20.47m |
| XSJ | Consumer Staples | 5475 | 52.2 | 0.96% | 25.19m |
| XUJ | Utilities | 4353.1 | 37.2 | 0.86% | 5.61m |
| XIJ | Information Technology | 365.5 | 2.4 | 0.66% | 7.39m |
| XTJ | Telecommunications | 1764.5 | 7 | 0.4% | 16.61m |
| XNJ | Industrials | 4782.3 | 17.2 | 0.36% | 32.06m |
| XXJ | ASX200 ex Property Trusts | 4674.7 | 15.9 | 0.34% | 48.56m |
| XFJ | Financials | 4680.7 | 13.9 | 0.3% | 99.67m |
| XHJ | Healthcare | 4455.8 | 11.7 | 0.26% | 10.33m |
| XPJ | Property Trusts | 1790.6 | 2.7 | 0.15% | 51.11m |
| XDJ | Consumer Discretionary | 2357.3 | -1.9 | -0.08% | 27.34m |
| XMJ | Materials | 6552.2 | -6 | -0.09% | 73.76m |
All Ordinaries Volume Leaders
For some reason my system keeps referring to CEUCA as "ConnectEast" instead of "Bracks you lying scumbag, you knew before the election that you were going to introduce tolls, but you lied anyhow"... Limited.
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| ZYL | Zylotech | 0.003 | 0 | 0% | 88.59m |
| FCN | Falcon Minerals | 1.05 | 0.15 | 16.67% | 28.77m |
| JRV | Jervois Mining | 0.013 | 0 | -7.14% | 22.07m |
| CEUCA | Connecteast-Pp | 0.7 | -0.01 | -1.41% | 21.03m |
| OBJ | Obj Ltd | 0.029 | 0 | -6.45% | 17.74m |
All Ordinaries Top Gainers
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| FOA | Foodland | 23.35 | 4.14 | 21.55% | 1.89m |
| CST | Cellestis | 3.64 | 0.46 | 14.47% | 1.33m |
| MBP | Metabolic Pharma | 2.2 | 0.26 | 13.4% | 2.99m |
| OEC | Orbital Corp | 0.14 | 0.02 | 12.5% | 1.5m |
| SED | Sedimentary | 0.29 | 0.02 | 7.41% | 433611 |
All Ordinaries Top Losers
| Code | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| ADA | Adacel Tech | 0.325 | -0.05 | -12.16% | 85081 |
| BLT | Benitec | 0.52 | -0.04 | -7.14% | 177100 |
| VSL | Vision System | 1.11 | -0.08 | -6.72% | 1.28m |
| OTT | Open Telecommun | 0.28 | -0.02 | -6.67% | 47472 |
| OMI | Occupational Med | 1.3 | -0.09 | -6.47% | 93236 |
Elsewhere in the Region...
| Country | Name | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| New Zealand | NZSE50 | 3015.098 | 5.63 | 0.19% | 22.64m |
| Japan | Nikkei 225 | 10965.82 | -109.07 | -0.98% | 59817 |
| Korea | KOSPI | 873.02 | -9.53 | -1.08% | 243713 |
| Singapore | Straits Times | 2050.14 | -11.44 | -0.55% | 68.13m |
| Hong Kong | Hang Seng | 14189.72 | -22.12 | -0.16% | 157.22m |
| Malaysia | KLSE Comp | 913.5 | -3.67 | -0.4% | 29.77m |
Main SFE Futures Contracts
| Code | Instrument | Close | +/- | % | Volume |
| SPI04Z | SPI200 Index SFE | 3956 | -5 | -0.13% | 15811 |
| IR04Z | 90-day Bank Bills SFE | 94.73 | 0.01 | 0.01% | 18123 |
| YT04Z | 3-yr Bond SFE | 95.05 | 0.05 | 0.05% | 54821 |
| XT04Z | 10-yr Bond SFE | 94.78 | 0.07 | 0.07% | 12308 |
